lf and his wonderful friend.
And he wished that One-Eye would burst out at him as Barber would have
done, and give him a piece of his mind--oh, anything but this manner so
polite yet so full of cool displeasure!

However, One-Eye had a second apple, which he presented to Johnnie, and
this helped to clear the air. And the latter, hoping to win back
One-Eye's good opinion, wiped off a table knife, halved the apple, and
scraped it, giving the juicy scrapings to the toothless old soldier.

At once One-Eye became less absent-minded. "Wal, how's the arm?" he
asked. "The boys tole me t' shore find out."

"Oh, it hurts a little," declared Johnnie, "but I don't mind. Say, how's
the cross horse?" One half of the apple scraped, Johnnie ate the red
shell of it. "And have y' been to the rest'rant again? And I s'pose all
them white-dressed men and ladies, they can eat all they want to of
ev'ry kind of de-_licious_ things!"

One-Eye 'lowed they could. That lone orb of his was roving about the
flat as if he was looking for some one. And presently, clearing his
throat, "The young lady, she don't seem t' be at home," he observed,
with studied carelessness.

"Not till six," reminded Johnnie. "She works."

It was then that One-Eye drew from a pocket under those furry trousers a
third, and a mammoth, apple. "Wal, when she comes," he suggested, "y'
might jes' give her this."

"Oh, gee!" cried Johnnie. It was the largest apple he had ever seen.
"She'll like it. And she thinks you're grand!"

This proved to be such a master stroke of diplomacy as Johnnie had not
imagined. One-Eye glowed under the compliment, and went various shades
of red, and blew smoke from his cigar furiously. Now the last trace of
hardness went from the weathered countenance, the drooping mustache
lifted to show toothy gaps, and even the marble of that eye softened.
"Now, say!" exclaimed the cowboy. "Y' ain't stringin' me, are y'? She
said that? Wal, this world is a shore funny place! Right funny! Jes'
recent I paid a lady here in town six-bits t' read the trails in my
hands. And she tole me, 'Y're going t' meet a high-toned gal.' And
now----!"

He said no more after that, only smoked, and stared at Johnnie's sky
patch, and twiddled a spurred boot. The cigar finished, he rose and
shook hands solemnly, first with Grandpa, who giggled like a delighted
child; then with a somewhat subdued Johnnie.

"My!" breathed the latter as the clump, clump of the spurred boots