He knew him by sight well enough, and he took it for granted that the recognition was mutual.

But he gave no sign of remembrance.

Instead, he asked how much the Indian wanted for the grass the horses would eat in an hour.
The Indian looked at the two impassively and did not say anything at all; so Applehead flipped him a dollar.
"Now, what time did them fellows pass here yesterday ?" Applehead asked, in the half Indian, half Mexican jargon which nearly all New Mexico Indians speak.
The Indian looked at the dollar and moved his head of bobbed hair vaguely from left to right.
"All right, dang ye, don't talk if ye don't feel like it," Applehead commented in wasted sarcasm, and looked at Luck for some hint of what was wanted next.

Luck seemed uncertain, so Applehead turned toward the ditch, and the food his empty stomach craved.
"No use tryin' to make 'em talk if they ain't in the notion," he told Luck impatiently.

"He's got his dollar, and we'll take what grass our hosses kin pack away in their bellies.