Billy, he smiled kinda wistful and begun to brush the alkali offen that ole Stetson of hisn, turnin' it 'round and 'round like he was worried. "Aw, never mind, Cupid," he says; "--just keep on you' shirt."
But pretty soon things got a darned sight worse, and I couldn't hardly hole in. Not satisfied with havin' the hull country on his trail account of that surrey, Simpson tried a _new_ deal: He got to discoverin' bugs!
He found out that Bill Rawson had malaria bugs, and the Kelly kid had diphtheria bugs, and Dutchy had typhoid bugs that didn't do business owin' to the alcohol in his system. (_Too_ bad!) Why, it was astonishin' how many kinds of newfangled critters we'd never heard of was a-livin' in this Terrytory!
But all his bugs didn't split no shakes with _Rose_. She was _po_lite to Simpson, and friendly, but nothin' worse. And it was plainer 'n the nose on you' face that Billy was solid with her. But the ole man is the hull show in that fambly, y' savvy; and all us fellers could do was to hope like sixty that nothin' 'd happen to give Simpson a' extra chanst. But, crimini! Somethin' _did_ happen: Rose's baby got sick. Wouldn't eat, wouldn't sleep, kinda whined all the time, like a sick purp, and begun to look peaked--pore little kid!
I was out at the Bar Y that same day, and when the news got over to the bunk-house, we was all turrible _ex_cited. "Which'll the ole man send after," we says, "--Simpson 'r Billy?"
He come down the road two-forty, settin' up as stiff as if he had a ramrod in his backbone. I just happened over towards the house as he turned in at the gate. He staked out his surrey clost to the porch and stepped down. My! such nice little button shoes!
"Aw, maw!" says Monkey Mike; "he's too rich fer _my_ blood!"
The ole man come out to say howdy. When Simpson seen him, he says, "Mister Sewell, they's some hens 'round here, and I don't want 'em to hop into my machine whilst I'm in the house." Then, he looks at me. "Can you' hired man keep 'em shooed?" he says.
Hired man! I took a jump his _di_rection that come nigh to splittin' my boots. "Back up, m' son," I says, reachin' to my britches pocket. "_I_ ain't no hired man."
Sewell, he puts in quick. "No, no, Doc," he says; "this man's one of the Diamond O cow-boys. Fer heaven's sake, Cupid! You're gittin' to be as touchy as a cook!"