an if I should read
anymore.

"'Sarten,' he said. 'That war fine. It are like that mornin' at
Murfreesborough when all thar bugles war callin' 'nd ther big guns war
beginnin' ter roar.'

"Then I opened at the beginning and read right along for an hour. All the
company were greatly excited, declaring 'it war fine.'

"I read to them every evening the winter through, read the Iliad entire,
and in the meantime Jordan had sent to Galveston for more books, begging
me to select them, and declaring he would fill the house with them if I
would only 'steer his buyin' so as not by his purchases 'ter make a holy
show' of himself.

"When finally the great annual round-up came, I held my own with the best
riders, on trial I could draw and shoot with the quickest and surest
shots, and could handle a rope fairly well. I enjoyed the life.

"Generally every one was my friend, but there was one rough customer, a
man named Turner, who did not like me, though I had never done a thing in
the world to offend him. He made his boasts that no one had ever 'got
away' with him or ever would. He had a tough record and many people
feared him, for he was a powerful man physically, and cruel in all his
instincts.

"One day something was needed from the station, and I rode Buckskin down
to get it. The station was a couple of miles from Jordan's house. Thirty
or forty cowboys were there on a lark, and all had been drinking a
little.

"They hailed me boisterously and wanted me to drink. I laughingly told
them I never drank, and good-naturedly threatened to make it hot for the
whole band if they did not behave themselves. I had neither coat nor vest
on, and they could all see I had no weapons about me. They all laughed,
for they were a jovial, good-hearted crowd.

"But just then this rough Turner showed up and said: 'Who is threatening
to make it hot for us?'

"Half a dozen of the boys explained that I was only joking, but Turner
was bent on mischief.

"'He won't drink with us, hey? Well, we'll drink with him,' he said, and
turning to me ordered me to call up the crowd and treat, or tell the
reason why.

"I replied that one reason was that I did not very often drink, and
another was that I never drank on compulsion.

"He was frantic in a moment, and suddenly drew his revolver. I caught the
barrel and turned it up just as he fired, then took it from him, handed
it to one of the boys, and told him to keep it until Turner had time to
reflect