ften as I have,
you calls him a dog yourself,' I says.

"I don't furget again after that, 'n' things go along smooth as silk
from then on.

"The show runs along fur a week, but it don't make good.

"'The waving corn for this outfit!' says the chicken to me, Saturday
night. 'The citizens of Peoria, Illinois, will have a chance to lamp
my art before long.'

"She's got it doped right. We hit the road in jig-time. Banks makes a
speech before we leaves.

"'Ladies and gentlemen,' he says, 'I thank you for your good work. Mr.
De Mott will represent me on the road. I hope you will be a happy
family, and I wish you success.'

"Outside of the chicken, I'm not stuck on the bunch. They're as cheap
a gang as I'm ever up against. This De Mott guy is a cheese right, but
he sure thinks he's the original bell-wether. He's strong fur the
chicken, 'n' this makes the others sore at her. They don't have much
to do with me neither, 'n' she don't fall fur De Mott, so her 'n' me
sees each other a lot.

"She's a bug over hosses 'n' the track. She wants me to tell her all
about trainin' a hoss 'n' startin' a hoss 'n' fifty other things
besides.

"'I always lose,' she says. 'But then, I'm a rummy. Can you tell
which horse is going to win, Blister?'

"'Sometimes,' I says.

"'When you go back to the track will you put me wise so I can win?' she
says.

"'You bet I will, girlie!' I says. 'Any time I cut loose a good thing
you gets the info right from the feed-box.'

"De Mott keeps noticin' us stickin' together. He's talkin' to her once
when I'm passin' by.

"'He's on the square,' she says pretty loud. 'And that's more than you
can say about a lot of people I know.'

"'That big ham was trying to knock you,' she says to me afterwards.

"We makes a bunch of towns. Nothin' very big--burgs like Erie 'n'
Grand Rapids 'n' Dayton. Finally we hits St. Louis fur a two weeks'
stand. This suits me. I'm sure tired of shippin' the dogs every few
days.

"One night the chicken stops me as I'm takin' the pups to their kennel.

"'Come back for me, Blister,' she says, 'when you get your horses put
up. There's a Johnny in this town that's pestering the life out of me.
He wants me to go to 'Frisco with him.'

"When I gets back to the theater I sees a green buzz-wagon at the stage
door with a guy 'n' a shofe in it.

"The chicken has hold of my arm comin' out of the door, but she lets go
of it 'n' then steps up straight to the