Casey wished that he knew where Hank and Paw were at this moment.

He hoped, too, that Joe was right--that Hank and Paw were drunk.

He'd have the three of them tied in a row before dark, in any case.

The thing to do now was to humor Joe along--leave it to Casey Ryan! Joe was uncorking a small, flat bottle of pale liquor.

Now he held it out to Casey.