Читать книгу Hands Up! онлайн

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"Doc would make a heck of a section boss," said he.

"Reckon we never got over a track like it before," said another.

"I never did," said the one who was lifting off the buckets of water. "He made me laugh, did Doc, when the sweat got running on his glasses and he took them oft and then couldn't catch hold of the pump-handle again."

"He got his knuckles rapped with the handle, I suppose," said I.

The man turned and examined me and evidently I bore his scrutiny well.

"No, sir," he said. "But we were going to slow up for him to catch hold, and he yelled out to us to pump on. 'I'll catch the Godam thing!' says he. He makes me smile—the English way he nips his cusses."

"He's all right," said another. "I see he knew his business when he shouts out: 'The water-tank! Black Kettle ain't got water at the depôt, has it?' and when we all says 'No'—'Good,' he says, and we appropriates all the five buckets in the freight shed, fills 'em full at the tank, and sets 'em round our feet. It seemed a heck of a lot to bring five full buckets—but it's five half ones now," and he nodded at the half-empty pails.