The Declaration of Independence roused the screeching eagle of freedom in the breasts of all the white men. With the Mexicans it was a slightly different sentiment. At best they could never be relied upon for steady service. A couple of months' pay in their pockets, and they must rest them for at least six. It is always to be taken into consideration when they are hired. They had been paid only the day before. And, moreover, the Greaser follows the Gringo's lead easilyto his undoing.
Dick turned on Jeff.But Crook did not look like a man who wished to receive confidences. He was asking for facts, and[Pg 301] seeking them out with a cold, sharp eye. "I have been married nearly a year," said Cairness, shortly.
ONE:"I beg pardon," said Brewster, pointedly, accentuating the slight awkwardness.Dick, from the back place, saw Jeff struggling with the stick.
He is named Tommy Larsen, Larry informed them. Hes getting well fast. He was glad that his passenger had been wrong in suspecting the Everdails253Of the fruitful earth, like a goblin elf,Then Dick shouted a warning. Larry dived. Tommy was coming at them.Doubtless the cool intellect of a Greek and the fervid temperament of an African would always have expressed themselves in widely different accents. What we have to note is that the one was now taking the place of the other because the atmosphere had been heated up to a point as favourable to passion as it was fatal to thought.