tting off his head.

"'Now take a young fellow like you,' said the doctor to his patient,
'if he was all shot to pieces, just so the parts would hang together, I
could fix him up and he would get well. You have no idea, son, how much
lead a young man can carry.' We had coffee and lunch before starting,
the doctor promising to send me back at once with necessary medicines.

"We had a very pleasant trip driving back to town that night. The
stories he could tell were like a song with ninety verses, no two alike.
It was hardly daybreak when we reached San Angelo, rustled out a sleepy
hostler at the livery stable where the team belonged, and had the horses
cared for; and as we left the stable the doctor gave me his instrument
case, while he carried the amputated leg in the paper. We both felt the
need of a bracer after our night's ride, so we looked around to see if
any saloons were open. There was only one that showed any signs of life,
and we headed for that. The doctor was in the lead as we entered, and
we both knew the barkeeper well. This barkeeper was a practical joker
himself, and he and the doctor were great hunting companions. We walked
up to the bar together, when the doctor laid the package on the counter
and asked: 'Is this good for two drinks?' The barkeeper, with a look
of expectation in his face as if the package might contain half a dozen
quail or some fresh fish, broke the string and unrolled it. Without a
word he walked straight from behind the bar and out of the house. If he
had been shot himself he couldn't have looked whiter.

"The doctor went behind the bar and said: 'Glenn, what are you going to
take?' 'Let her come straight, doctor,' was my reply, and we both took
the same. We had the house all to ourselves, and after a second round
of drinks took our leave. As we left by the front door, we saw the
barkeeper leaning against a hitching post half a block below. The doctor
called to him as we were leaving: 'Billy, if the drinks ain't on you,
charge them to me.'"

The moon was just rising, and at Uncle Lance's suggestion we each
carried in a turn of wood. Piling a portion of it on the fire, the blaze
soon lighted up the camp, throwing shafts of light far into the recesses
of the woods around us. "In another hour," said Uncle Lance, recoaling
the oven lids, "that smaller pie will be all ready to serve, but we'll
keep the big one for breakfast. So, boys, if you want to sit up awhile
longer, we'll have a