FAREWELL TO ABILENE 113 



the owner all about it, he got mad and threat- 

 ened to shoot the first horse-doctor he should 

 ever happen to see. 



He cooled down in a few days and brought 

 the mule to me. One of the upper molars had 

 decayed and the opposing tooth in the lower jaw 

 had grown until it was about an inch too long. 

 It took only a minute to cut this off and enable 

 the mule to eat properly. Now, this quack had 

 "fixed" this same mouth twice within a week and 

 had done absolutely nothing toward correcting 

 the condition. Well, this will do for the quacks. 



Now, let me see ; where was I ? Oh, yes ; I was 

 in the act of leaving my quack partner at Abi- 

 lene. About two months I had been there. I 

 could see that our bubble was getting ready to 

 burst; we had to charge exorbitant fees to make 

 any money, and we were being shunned by the 

 farmers. They were almost afraid to look at the 

 sign on our door for fear we might charge them 

 for the looking. Before the bottom dropped out 

 from under us I packed my trunk and bade my 

 partner farewell. 



I had about seventy-five dollars saved up, and 

 I bought a ticket right through to El Paso, four 

 hundred and fifty miles west. 



