Aleck was a just man who paid honestly what he owed; he was also known to be "close-fisted." He would pay what he owed and not a nickel more,--hence the dispute.
Johnny had gone away seeming satisfied that his own figures were wrong, but later on he had quarreled with Carl over wages and other things.
Carl had a bad temper that sometimes got beyond his control, and he had ordered Johnny off the ranch.

This was part of the long, full-detailed story Jim had been telling.

Johnny had left, and he had talked about the Douglas brothers to any one who would listen.

He had said they were crooked, both of them, and would cheat a working-man out of his pay.

He had come back, evidently, to renew the argument with Aleck.
With the easy ways of ranch people, he had gone inside when he found no one at home,--hungry, probably, and not at all backward about helping himself to whatever appealed to his appetite.