ps in front of me an' says, 'Here's your
dozen lobsters, sir,' I jest nachally nigh fell dead right thar, knowin'
Stonewall was up agin it harder'n ever before in his life.

"Say! I never wanted a cayuse so bad in my life; ef I had one I'd shore
have skipped--forked him an' split the scenery open gittin' away from
them war-painted animiles--but thar I was afoot!

"So I bunches up my nerve an' says:

"'Say, coon, I done expected a bunch of th' boys to feed with me, but
they hain't showed up. Me an' th' worm will tackle a pair of them red
jaspers, an' you fellers put the other ten where they cain't git away
till th' boys comes.'

"Then, not lettin' on to th' city chaps settin' an' grinnin' all round
me that I wa'n't raised in th' same lot with lobsters, I takes my knife
an' fork an' lites in to go to eatin', when I'll just be eternally
hanged if I didn't nigh go crazy to find them critturs was jest nachally
_all_ hoofs an' horns--nairy a place on 'em from end to end airy
human's jaws could ever git to feed on.

"An' I was about to jerk my gun an' shoot one apart to find out what his
insides was like, when a feller settin' next showed me how to knock th'
horns off an' git at th' meat proper.

"Then me an' th' worm got busy good an' plenty, for th' meat was sweeter
an' tenderer even than 'possum.

"Before we got done we shore chambered five of them animiles, an' when I
paid th' bill an' sashayed out, it was with _re_grets I didn't have my
war sack handy to pack off th' rest in.

"Come evenin', I moseyed up to Mr. Man's pen an' axed him what was th'
finest, highest-priced show in town, an' he told me she was to a
the-_a_-ter called th' Op'ra.

"So out I goes, an' ropes another kid an' gits him to steer me to her.

"Arrived to th' the-_a_-ter, I prances up to th' ticket-wagon an' says,
sorta reckless:

"'Pardner, jest hand me out a dociment for th' best place to set in you
got; price is no object. It's th' _best_ in your show for Stonewall,'
privately allowin' to myself he might stick me up for as much as a
dollar and a half.

"At that he whispers to me. 'Twenty-five dollars,' jest as easy an'
nat'rel, without turnin' a hair or appearin' any more excited than
Dunc. Blackburn sticking up a stage-coach.

"Twenty-fi-five plunks to git to set a hour or so to see a little ol'
fool play-actin'! I'll just be horn-swiggled if that wa'n't goin' some
for Stonewall! Nigh three weeks' wages to git to 'ante an' come in,' a