He spoke as though the explanation were self-evident.
"They busted away in a straight line," he said, "so I knew by that that something was leading 'em.

Them bays ain't got sense enough of their own to run so straight." She noted the slur without anger.

"Well, what was leading 'em must of been what let 'em out of the corral; and what let 'em out of the corral--" "Horse thieves!" cried Marianne, but Hervey observed her without interest.
"Hoss stealing ain't popular around these parts for some time," he said.
"Rustle a cow, now and then, but they don't aim no higher--not since we strung Josh Sinclair to the cottonwood.

Nope, they was stole, but not by a man." Here he made a tantalizing pause to roll a cigarette with Marianne exclaiming: "If not a man, then what on earth, Mr.Hervey ?" He puffed out his answer with the first big cloud of smoke: "By another hoss! I guessed it right off.

Remember what I said last night about the chestnut stallion and the bad luck he put on my gun ?" She recalled vividly how Hervey, with the utmost solemnity, had avowed that the leader of the mustangs put "bad luck" on his bullets and that they had not seen the last of the horse.