,
I ain't got time t' stay;
Jes' want t' see some uh the boys
'N then I'm on my way.
There's many a hand here right now
That I know'd long, long ago,
When ranch land was free an' open
An' the plowman had a show.

"'Tain't often we git together
To swap yarns an' tell our lies,"
Said the old time Texas cowman
As a mist comes to his eyes.
"So let's drink up; here's how!"
As we drain our glasses two,
"Them was good ol' days an' good ol' ways--
Now I'm tellin' you!"

He talked and talked and yarned away,
He harped on days of yore--
My head it ached and I grew faint;
My legs got tired and sore.
Then a woman yelled, "You come here, John!"
And Lordy! how he flew!
And the last I heard as he broke and ran
Was, "Now I'm tellin' you!"

I won't never hail old timers
To have a drink with me,
To learn the history of the range
As far back as seventy-three.
And the next time that I'm thirsty
And feeling kind of blue,
I'll step right up and drink alone--
Now I'm tellin' you!
_From the Wild Bunch._

THE CLOWN'S BABY

IT was on the western frontier,--
The miners, rugged and brown,
Were gathered round the posters,
The circus had come to town!
The great tent shone in the darkness
Like a wonderful palace of light,
And rough men crowded the entrance,--
Shows didn't come every night!

Not a woman's face among them;
Many a face that was bad,
And some that were only vacant,
And some that were very sad.
And behind a canvas curtain,
In a corner of the place,
The clown, with chalk and vermillion,
Was "making up" his face.

A weary looking woman
With a smile that still was sweet,
Sewed on a little garment,
With a cradle at her feet.
Pantaloon stood ready and waiting,
It was time for the going on;
But the clown in vain searched wildly,--
The "property baby" was gone!

He murmured, impatiently hunting,
"It's strange that I cannot find--
There, I've looked in every corner;
It must have been left behind!"
The miners were stamping and shouting,
They were not patient men;
The clown bent over the cradle,--
"I must take you, little Ben."

The mother started and shivered,
But trouble and want were near;
She lifted the baby gen