ed.

If that bull had any imagination, he must have thought me a traveller
from other worlds, the man from Mars just arriving; for in the
darkness he hadn't seen me swing from the train. In fact, his first
words were: "Where did you come from?" His next words, and before I
had time to answer, were: "I've a good mind to run you in." This
latter, I am convinced, was likewise automatic. He was a really good
bull at heart, for after I had told him a "story" and helped brush off
his clothes, he gave me until the next freight to get out of town. I
stipulated two things: first, that the freight be east-bound, and
second, that it should not be a through freight with all doors sealed
and locked. To this he agreed, and thus, by the terms of the Treaty of
Bristol, I escaped being pinched.

I remember another night, in that part of the country, when I just
missed another bull. If I had hit him, I'd have telescoped him, for I
was coming down from above, all holds free, with several other bulls
one jump behind and reaching for me. This is how it happened. I had
been lodging in a livery stable in Washington. I had a box-stall and
unnumbered horse-blankets all to myself. In return for such sumptuous
accommodation I took care of a string of horses each morning. I might
have been there yet, if it hadn't been for the bulls.

One evening, about nine o'clock, I returned to the stable to go to
bed, and found a crap game in full blast. It had been a market day,
and all the negroes had money. It would be well to explain the lay of
the land. The livery stable faced on two streets. I entered the front,
passed through the office, and came to the alley between two rows of
stalls that ran the length of the building and opened out on the other
street. Midway along this alley, beneath a gas-jet and between the
rows of horses, were about forty negroes. I joined them as an
onlooker. I was broke and couldn't play. A coon was making passes and
not dragging down. He was riding his luck, and with each pass the
total stake doubled. All kinds of money lay on the floor. It was
fascinating. With each pass, the chances increased tremendously
against the coon making another pass. The excitement was intense. And
just then there came a thundering smash on the big doors that opened
on the back street.

A few of the negroes bolted in the opposite direction. I paused from
my flight a moment to grab at the all kinds of money on the floor.
This wasn't theft: it wa