"
"Right ye are," said the man. "How's Chiquita getting along?"
"Ah, I've got yer now. How did yer come out? Middlin' well, ter jedge
from ther mule yer ridin', an' yer ginral appearance o' prosperity."
"You bet I be," said the man, "an' if it hadn't been fer you I wouldn't
have been nowhere. I've come a long ways ter hunt yer up, ter thank yer,
an' to get better acquainted with yer."
"Well, ye've got me inter a heap o' trouble," said Bud, laughing.
"So I see, an' I'll help yer get out o' it. What seems ter be the
trouble?"
"Well, old Chiquita, er Hatrack, ez ther boys in ther outfit calls him,
won a race just now, an' ther gamblers won't stand by it. They sent out
word that Hatrack was a sure winner, an'--"
"Same old thing. Chiquita fooled them all."
"I didn't know he could do it myself, but I remembered what you said
about him, an' when an ole maverick come along an' banters me fer a race
I jest took him up, an' this is how it come out. He took us fer a bunch
o' gillies, an' used us to try to fleece the people.
Pages:
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343