"They c'n wait.

That there house is sure in a good spot.

If it'd bin planned for a fort it couldn't be better." He stood and silently regarded the house, his eyes narrowed more than usual.

"How many men d'ye s'pose they've got in there ?" he asked finally.
"Reck'n they could scrape up 'bout twenty-five, in th' time they've had," Walt answered.
"An' some o' 'em shepherds, an' rotten shots, an' they's fifty o' us," Buck put in.

He was eager for action.
"Well, I come here t' fight, an' I'm paid for it," said Mart Cooley.
"But if we go after 'em in th' open an' th' daylight, they'll get a lot of us.