Behind him Andy Green came scrambling; but Luck, still faintly hoping for a
clue, kept to the upper rim of the arroyo, scanning every bit of soft ground
where it seemed possible for a horse to climb up from below. He had always
recognized the native cunning of Ramon, but he had never dreamed him as
cunning as this latest ruse would seem to prove him.
As for Bill Holmes, Luck dismissed him with a shrug of contempt. Bill Holmes
had been stranded in Albuquerque when the cold weather was coming on; he had
been hungry and shelterless and ill-clad--one of those bits of flotsam which
drift into our towns and stand dejectedly upon our street-corners when they do
not prowl down alleys to the back doors of our restaurants in the hope of
being permitted to wash the soiled dishes of more fortunate men for the food
which diners have left beside their plates. Luck had fed Bill Holmes, and he
had given him work to do and the best food and shelter he could afford; and
for thanks, Bill had- as Luck believed-made sly, dishonest love to
Annie-Many-Ponies, for whose physical and moral welfare Luck would be held
responsible. Bill had deliberately chosen to steal rather than work for honest
wages, and had preferred the unstable friendship of Ramon Chavez to the
cleaner life in Luck's company.
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