, there were other
and greater attractions in that household for Whitey. There were five
young Smiths,--five boys, three older and two younger than, Whitey,--and
not a girl in sight. In that company Whitey forgot all about being
tired. A new boy, that knew stories, was meat and drink to them--and
five boys, that knew stories that were new to Whitey, were meat and
drink to him.

Their sleeping quarters were the garret, and while a lantern swung from
a beam, and Mr. and Mrs. Cal were asleep, and the boys were supposed to
be asleep, those kids just wrote and rewrote a history of the West that
would make all the tenderfeet in the world stay at home, and forever
hold down the population of the Frontier.

And the smallest boy, named Cal after his father, had a hard time
keeping awake, but was bound to do it if it killed him; and the biggest
boy, named Abe after Abraham Lincoln, probably knew more about wild
animals than any boy in the world; and the smallest boy never had killed
any animals, except a stray mole or two, that happened to get out in the
daytime, by mistake, but he was _goin' to_--and--well, there was so much
to be told, and it had to be told so fast, that no shorthand writer that
ever lived could have put it all down.

But finally, no matter how interesting the company, sleep will come to
healthy boys, and just before that time came, and could not be put off
any longer, they happened to be talking about dreams. Abe said that if
you would tie a rope around your neck, and tie it to a beam, just before
you went to sleep, you would sure dream of a hanging. And, of course,
Whitey had to try it.

He tied the rope around his neck, he tied the other end around a beam,
and he went to sleep. There were six boys in that bed, and there was a
whole lot of crowding, and Whitey was sleeping on the outside. And he
didn't have to dream about any hanging, because he came so near the real
thing. I don't have to tell you how it happened. Bill Jordan's letter
came mighty near not being delivered. However, all ended happily, and
save for rubbing that part of his anatomy where he wore a collar after
he was grown up, Whitey was all right.

CHAPTER XI

THE T UP AND DOWN

The next day Cal Smith said that a joke was all very well, but
twenty-five miles was far enough to carry it, and he staked Whitey to a
horse to make the rest of the trip with, Whitey to return the horse on
his way back. When they reached Zumbro Creek it