“No, jackass, we done run up on somebody’s camp,” Bud replied. “Best leave the horses here and slip up a little closer, so we can take a look-see.” They tied their horses there and moved cautiously up closer to the source of the smoke. Parting the branches of a large laurel bush, he peeked through to see the small camp.

Pushing up beside him, Luke said, “I don’t see but one horse down by the water, and there ain’t but one man I can see, and he’s settin’ up close to that big cottonwood.”

“On the other side of him,” Bud whispered, excitedly. “That looks like a woman settin’ next to him with a robe on.”

“It’s her!” Luke blurted, although with the blanket covering her head and shoulders, he could not be absolutely sure. “It’s gotta be her. The little bitch has took up with another man. Well, I’ll take care of that real quick,” he declared as he drew the .44 riding on his hip.

“That might not be too smart,” Bud cautioned. “We shoulda brung our rifles. With him settin’ up close against that tree like he is, he ain’t givin’ you much of a target. And that far away, you’d be lucky to hit the damn tree with your pistol.”

“Well, he don’t look like he’s goin’ anywhere,” Luke said. “Let’s go back and get our rifles.”

“There ain’t no use in takin’ a chance on pluggin’ that tree instead of him,” Bud suggested. “Why don’t we go back and get the horses, then just ride on into his camp peaceable-like?” Luke cocked his head to the side, a sign that told Bud he wasn’t too sure that was a good idea, so Bud explained his reasoning. “If we just ride on in like we’re peaceful travelers and don’t give him any idea we’re lookin’ for trouble, we’ll be able to ride to the right of that campfire so there won’t be none of him behind the tree. As soon as we get the angle on him, we can blast away. That way, we can get a better look at who’s under that blanket.” He punched Luke playfully on the shoulder and commented, “That might be his old granny under there.”

They both chuckled over that and Luke said, “Then I reckon that’d be a woman for you, since you said my gal’s sister was too young for you.”