"
"I'll go you seventy-five dollars for the outfit, just as you got
it--chaps, taps, and latigo straps, if you'll have it in front of
my house at nine o'clock to-morrow."
"All right, young man--all right sir--now don't blame me if you air
took home shoes fust."
"Nary," said Red. "Come and see the fun."
"I shorely will," replied the old gentleman.
IV
At nine the next morning there was a crowd in front of the house.
"What have you been doing now, Will?" asked Miss Mattie with
prescience.
"Only buying a horse, Mattie," returned Red soberly. "Seems to be
quite an event here."
"Is that all?"
"That's all, so help me Bob!" Red had a suspicion that there would
be objections if she knew what kind of a horse it was.
Lettis, who had roomed with Red overnight, was in the secret.
The horse arrived, leading very quietly, as Mr. Upton had said. It
was a buckskin, fat and hearty from long resting. Nothing could be
more docile than the pensive lower lip, and the meek curve of the
neck; nothing could be more contradictory than the light of its
eye; a brooding, baleful fire, quietly biding its time.
"Scatter, friends!" cried Red, as he put his foot in the stirrup.
"Don't be too proud to take to timber!"
He swung over as lightly as a trapeze performer, deftly catching
his other stirrup. The horse groaned and shivered.
Pages:
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133