he lady she'd never go
ropin' 'round for that divorce. No Dave; your secrets is plumb safe
with a gent who's suffered.

"'Which I saveys I'm safe with all of you,' says Dave, his confidence,
which the thoughts of Tucson Jennie sort o' stampedes, beginnin' to
return. 'But now an' then them gusts of apprehensions frequent with
married gents sweeps over me an' I feels weak. But comin' back to the
dance-hall: As I su'gests thar's many a serene hour I whiles away
tharin. Your days an' your _dinero_ shore flows plenty swift in that
temple of merriment; an' chilled though I be with the stiff dignity of
a wedded middle age, if it ain't for my infant son, Enright Peets Tutt,
to whom I'm strivin' to set examples, I'd admire to prance out an' live
ag'in them halcyon hours; that's whatever!

"'Thar's quite a sprinklin' of the _elite_ of Tucson in the dance-hall
the evenin' I has in mind. The bar is busy; while up an' down each
side sech refreshin' pastimes as farobank, monte an' roulette holds
prosperous sway. Thar's no quadrille goin' at the moment, an' a lady
to the r'ar is carollin' "Rosalie, the Prairie Flower."

"Fair as a lily bloomin' in May,
Sweeter than roses, bright as the day!
Everyone who knows her feels her gentle power,
Rosalie the Prairie Flower."

"'On this yere o'casion I'm so far fortunate as to be five drinks ahead
an' tharfore would sooner listen to myse'f talk than to the warblin' of
the cantatrice. As it is, I'm conversin' with a gent who's standin'
hard by.

"'At my elbow is posted a shaggy an' forbiddin' outlaw whose name is
Yuba Tom, an' who's more harmonious than me. He wants to listen to
"Rosalie the Prairie Flower." Of a sudden, he w'irls about, plenty
peevish.

"'Stick a period to that pow-wow," observes Yuba; "I wants to hear this
prima donna sing."

"'Bein' gala with the five libations, I turns on Yuba haughty. "If
you're sobbin' to hear this songstress," I says, "go for'ard an' camp
down at her feet. But don't come pawin' your way into no conversations
with me. An' don't hang up no bluff."

"'Which if you disturbs me further," retorts Yuba, "I'll turn loose for
shore an' crawl your hump a lot."

"'Them foolhardy sports," I replies, "who has yeretofore attempted that
enterprise sleeps in onknown graves; so don't you-all pester me, for
the outlook's dark."

"'It's now that Yuba,--who's a mighty cautious sport, forethoughtful
an' prone to look ahead,--regyards the talk