" said Jud. "'He laughs bes' who laughs
las'.'"

They retired for consultation.

Bonaparte followed.

Within the bar-room they wiped the cold perspiration from their faces
and looked speechlessly into each other's eyes. Billy spoke first.

"Mine Gott, but we peek it oop in de road, Jud?"

"It seems that way to me--a dead cinch."

Bonaparte was positive--only let him get to the monkey, he said with
his wicked eyes.

Billy looked at Bonaparte, big, swarthy, sinewy and savage. He
thought of the little monkey.

"Dees is greet!--dees is too goot!--Jud, we peek it oop in de road,
heh?"

"I'm kinder afraid we'll wake an' find it a dream, Billy--hurry up.
Get the cash."

Billy was thoughtful: "Tree hun'd'd dollars--Jud--eef--eef--" he
shook his head.

"Now, Billy," said Jud patronizingly--"that's nonsense. Bonaparte
will eat him alive in two minutes. Now, he bein' my dorg, jes' you
put up the coin an' let me in on the ground floor. I'll pay it
back--if we lose--" he laughed. "_If_ we lose--it's sorter like
sayin' if the sun don't rise."

"Dat ees so, Jud, we peek eet oop in de road. But eef we don't peek
eet oop, Billy ees pusted!"

"Oh," said Jud, "it's all like takin' candy from your own child."

The news had spread and a crowd had gathered to see the champion dog
of the Tennessee Valley eat up a monkey. All the loafers and
ne'er-do-wells of Cottontown were there. The village had known no
such excitement since the big mill had been built.

They came up and looked sorrowfully at the monkey, as they would
look in the face of the dead. But, considering that he had so short a
time to live, he returned the grin with a reverence which was
sacrilegious.

"So han'sum--so han'sum," said Uncle Billy Caldwell, the squire. "So
bright an' han'sum an' to die so young!"

"It's nothin' but murder," said another.

This proved too much for Ozzie B.--

"Don't--d-o-n-'t--let him kill the monkey," he cried.

There was an electric flash of red as Archie B. ran around the tree
and kicked the sobs back into his brother.

"Just wait, Ozzie B., you fool."

"For--what?" sobbed Ozzie.

"For what the monkey does to Bonaparte," he shouted triumphantly.

The crowd yelled derisively: "_What the monkey does to
Bonaparte--that's too good?_"

"Boy," said Uncle Billy kindly--"don't you know it's ag'in
nachur--why, the dorg'll eat him up!"

"That's rot," said Archie B. disdainfully. Then hotly: "Yes, it wus
ag'in nachur when