h!--and
sleeping in a tent, on a canvas cot, with one blanket. Wouldn't care
a--(scoose me, sis)--I wouldn't mind if I had a real gun, and some
real fighting to look forward to. Some life, I don't think! But I
meant to tell you why I'm here.

You remember how I always took to cowboys. Well, I got chummy with a
big cow puncher from Montana. His name was Andersen. Isn't that
queer? His name same as mine except for the last e where I have o.
He's a Swede or Norwegian. True-blue American? Well, I should smile.
Like all cowboys! He's six feet four, broad as a door, with a flat
head of an Indian, and a huge, bulging chin. Not real handsome, but
say! he's one of the finest fellows that ever lived. We call him
Montana.

There were a lot of rough-necks in our outfit, and right away I got
in bad. You know I never was much on holding my temper. Anyway, I
got licked powerful fine, as dad would say, and I'd been all beaten
up but for Montana. That made us two fast friends, and sure some
enemies, you bet.

We had the tough luck to run into six of the rough-necks, just
outside of the little town, where they'd been drinking. I never
heard the name of one of that outfit. We weren't acquainted at all.
Strange how they changed my soldier career, right at the start! This
day, when we met them, they got fresh, and of course I had to start
something. I soaked that rough-neck, sis, and don't you forget it.
Well, it was a fight, sure. I got laid out--not knocked out, for I
could see--but I wasn't any help to pard Montana. It looked as if he
didn't need any. The rough-necks jumped him. Then, one after
another, he piled them up in the road. Just a swing--and down went
each one--cold. But the fellow I hit came to and, grabbing up a
pick-handle, with all his might he soaked Montana over the head.
What an awful crack! Montana went down, and there was blood
everywhere.

They took Montana to the hospital, sewed up his head. It wasn't long
before he seemed all right again, but he told me sometimes he felt
queer. Then they put us on a troop-train, with boys from California
and all over, and we came East. I haven't seen any of those other
Western boys, though, since we got here.

One day, without any warning, Montana keeled over, down and out.
Paralysis! They took him to a hospital in New York. No