much goin' on 'tween here an' the Hudson I don't hear 'bout, do ye?"
"You say there were two men here about noon?"
"That's jest what I said."
"Did they stop here?"
"Only long 'nough t' ask th' same questions you 're askin'."
"What did you tell them?"
"I told 'em I had n't seen anybody here. Bus'ness has been all-fired poor ever since th' war"—
"Did one of these men have a scar on his left cheek?"
"Yes. I'm not sure 't was th' left cheek, though. Let me see. Yes, I guess 't was th' left cheek, after all. I wasn't sure at first."
"That's all right," roared Josh. "We saw both men back here."
"Any one been here since they went away?" demanded Russell.
"Let me see. Yes, there was a man here."
"Young man?"
"He was n't so very old."
"About twenty?"
"I did n't ask him, but I should say he was 'bout that. He was as strong as a young bull an' as full o' grit an' ginger as an egg o' meat.
