A REGULAR TRAMP EXISTENCE 91 



To my question about the whereabouts of the vet- 

 erinary surgeon, he answered that he was the 

 party. He was very glad to meet me, as he had 

 often heard about me, he said, while I was located 

 in El Paso. 



He stated that he was helping out the black- 

 smith, who was sick, and that he had intended to 

 take the shop off his hands as his practice was not 

 paying. He told me he was a graduate of a 

 Michigan school. I knew at once that this was 

 not true. He was a quack; one of those quacks 

 who imagine themselves at the head of the veter- 

 inary profession and constantly rave about 

 quacks and quackery. I have met two or three 

 of this kind, and they are usually pretty foxy 

 fellows. Just the same, he was a good sort. 

 When I told him I might stay in his town a while 

 he became interested. He suggested that we 

 form a partnership and gather up some "quick 

 money," as he called it. He said there were lots 

 of cases of "heavy surgery" about the country, 

 cases which he had not had the time to fix up. 



Well, I was down and out; and as I had 

 decided to remain in Abilene a while, anyhow, I 

 thought I might just as well have the fellow with 

 me as against me. I agreed to go in with him; 

 and he was the happiest fellow you ever saw. We 

 rented an office before night, had cards printed 

 and began business. We divided everything 

 equally and at the end of two months I had saved 

 about seventy-five dollars out of my share. 



Those two months were the most interesting, 

 and at the same time the most care-free, I ever 



