Hopalong shifted his feet and Thirsty, coming to himself with a start, smiled.
His nerve had been shaken, but he was master of himself once more.
"Well!" he snarled, scowling.
Hopalong made no response, but stared him in the eyes.
Thirsty expected action, and the deadly quiet of his enemy oppressed him.

He stared in turn, but the insistent searching of his opponent's eyes scorched him and he shifted his gaze to Hopalong's neck.
"Well!" he repeated uneasily.
"Did yu have a nice time at th' dance last night ?" Asked Hopalong, still searching the face before him.
"Was there a dance?
I was over in Alameda," replied Thirsty shortly.
"Ya-as, there was a dance, an' yu can shoot purty durn far if yu was in Alameda," responded Hopalong, his voice low and monotonous.
Thirsty shifted his feet and glanced around.

Buck and Red were still lounging against their bowlders and apparently were not paying any attention to the proceedings.

His fickle nerve came back again, for he knew he would receive fair play.

So he faced Hopalong once more and regarded him with a cynical smile.
"Yu seems to worry a whole lot about me.