Page 10 (1/2)

The nextfrom the

vicinity of the stable He had not slept very well, and now at dawn felt

drowsy, but the voices would not let him sleep He rose, dressed, and

went out in the stable-yard There he found Doctor Gordon, Aaron, and a

strange man, small, and red-haired, and thin-faced, with shifty eyes,

holding by the bridle a fine black horse

"Don't want to buy a horse with a bridle on," Doctor Gordon was saying

as James appeared

"Do you think I'm the man to bear insults?" inquired the little

red-hairedIt is business," said Gordon

"That's so," Aaron said, chewing and eyeing the black horse and the

red-haired htfully

"Well," said the little red-haired man with an air at once of injured

innocence and ferocity, "if you want to knohy I object to selling

this horse without a bridle, come here, and I'll show you" Gordon and

Aaron and James approached The red-haired man slipped the bridle, and

underneath it appeared a small sore "There, that's the reason, and I'll

tell you the truth," said theto sell

this darned critter; paid a cool hundred for him, and everybody says

jest as you do, won't buy him with the bridle on Then I takes off the

bridle, and they sees this little bile, and there's an end to it I

suppose it's the saentleood trade, but it ain't my fault Here's an ani him for ninety I'm ten dollars out,

besides ain," said Gordon He slipped the bridle and

examined the place carefully Then he looked hard at the horse, which

stood with great docility, although he held his head proudly He was a

fine beast, glossy black in color, and had a hty-five," said Gordon

"Couldn't think of it"

"I don't know as I want the horse anyway," said Gordon

"I'll call it eighty-seven and a half," said the little red-haired man

Gordon stood still for a hty-six and call it square," he said

"All right," said the red-haired ivin' of him away, but

I'm so darned tired of trahty-six, and it's the biggest bargain you ever got in your life in

the way of horse flesh I wouldn't let hiet home"

The red-haired man carefully counted over the roll of bank-notes which

Doctor Gordon gave hih it seeht that he was evidently anxious to be gone He

refused Gordon's offer of breakfast, saying that he had already had so with uncommon speed for such a

s the new

purchase James patted him "He looks like a fine animal," he remarked

Aaron shifted his quid, and said with e that little red-haired cuss back?"

"Why, what for?" asked Doctor Gordon "I guess I have ood trade,

Aaron"

"Youthis ti "Come,

Elliot, it is time for breakfast, and we have to drive to Wardville

afterward for that fever case"

Jaood

almost rudely, then she hid her face behind the coffee-urn Gordon

glanced at her and sirl did not see it James

never looked her way at all She turned the coffee with apparent

concentration She did not dare look at either of the two men She had

never felt so disturbedly happy and so shy She had not slept all night,

she was so agitated with happiness, but thisshe showed no

traces of sleeplessness There was an unwonted color on her little fair

face, and her blue eyes were like jewels under her drooping lids

They were nearly through breakfast when the door which led into the

kitchen was abruptly thrown open, and Aaron stood there In his hand he

flourished dra mass of black "Told you so,"

he observed with a certain triumph The others stared at him

"What on earth is that?" asked Gordon

"That new horse's tail; it comes off," replied Aaron with brevity Then

he chewed

"Co

Gordon rose fro under his breath

"That ain't all," said Aaron, still with an air of sly triumph

"What else, for Heaven's sake?" cried Gordon

"Well, he cribs," replied Aaron laconically Then he chewed

"That hy he didn't want to take the bridle off?"

Aaron nodded

Gordon stood staring for a second, then he burst into a peal of

laughter "Bless ularly done," said he "Say,

Aaron, that was a s to try to find him?" asked James

"Well, we'll keep a lookout on the way to Wardville," said Gordon; "and,

Aaron, you y and drive

Stanbridge way, and see if you can get sight of hiht track a fox, but

you can't hiht," said Gordon, "but we'll do all we can

However, I think I'll try to get even with Saood

chance I'll drive the new horse to Wardville Aaron, you just tie that

tail on again, and fasten it up so as to keep it out of the et even for that white horse?"

"I'arded him as he had done so many times

before onder That such a man should have such powers of

assimilation astounded hi done, as he called it, and in trying in his turn to wipe off so man, to have

little burrows like some desperate animal, into which he could dive, and

be completely away from his enemies, and even from himself, when he

chose

He hurriedly drank the re hisa word and a kiss from Clemency But the child, the moment her

uncle went out, fled It was odd She wanted to stay and have a minute

with Ja, but it was for

just that very reason that she ran away

Jairl, and its shy workings,

were entirely beyond his comprehension He saw no earthly reason why

Clemency should have avoided him He followed Gordon with rather a

downcast face into the office, and begun assisting him with his

medicines Gordon himself was too full of interest in the horse trade to

re At times he chuckled to hireat peal of laughter "Hang it all! I don't like

to be done any better than any other man, but that little red-haired

sca me that little sore

I believe he had sandpapered the poor beast on purpose He tookdone in et even with Sao he worked me, and not half as cleverly as this

either He made me feel that I was a fool The red-haired one needed the

devil hiame Sam

Tucker sold me, or rather traded with me a veritable fiend of a horse

for an old o in her, and

was sound, and the other, well, Sa, because

nobody would drive him, and he had killed two men He was a white horse

with as wicked an eye as you ever saw, and ears always cocked for

mischief, like the arch fiend's horns Well, Sam, he made some kind of a

dye, and he actually dyed that animal a beautiful chestnut, and traded

him forI