"DONE. EVERLASTINGLY DONE"  

  THROUGH THE GLASS I GOT A BETTER VIEW OF THE POOR DEVIL ABOUT TO BE STRUNG  

  WE CALLED TO HIM TO HALT, AND HE STOPPED, KIND OF GRINNED AT US AND SAYS: "HELLO!"  

  YES, SIR; THERE HE SAT, AND HE WAS KNITTIN' A PAIR OF SOCKS!  

  TWENTY-FIVE FOOT OF A DROP, CLEAR, TO ICE-WATER—WOW!  

  "WHOOP HER UP, COLIN!" I HOLLERS  

 

 

 Red Saunders' Pets And Other Critters 

 

 The Pets 

 "Of all the worlds I ever broke into, this one's the most curious," said Red.  "And one of the curiousest things in it is that I think it's queer. Why should I, now? What put it into our heads that affairs ought to go so and so and so, when they never do anything of the sort? Take any book you read, or any story a man tells you: it runs along about how Mr. Smith made up his mind to do this or that, and proceeded to do it. And that never happened. What Mr. Smith calls making up his mind is nothing more nor less than Mr. Smith's dodging to cover under pressure of circumstances. That's straight. Old Lady Luck comes for Mr. Smith's mind, swinging both hands; she gives it a stem-winder on the ear; lams it for keeps on the smeller; chugs it one in the short ribs, drives right and left into its stummick, and Mr. Smith's mind breaks for cover; then Mr. Smith tells his wife that—he's made up his mind—He, mind you. Wouldn't that stun you? 

 "Some people would say, 'Mr. Sett and Mr. Burton made up their minds to start the Big Bend Ranch.'  All right; perhaps they did, but let me give you an inside view of the factory. 

 "First off, Billy Quinn, Wind-River Smith, and me were putting up hay at the lake beds. It was a 

 Prev. P 4/102 next