Silver City, over the mountains by 

 a short cut, to get me a good saddle 

 horse. He was always mumbling 

 what a great judge of 'hoss flesh' 

 he was. His instructions were, 

 ' easy-gaited, fast walker, plenty 

 of spirit, but no mean tricks, 

 broken to game shooting from the 

 saddle, not particular as to color 

 so long as it be not white/ I 

 never could endure a white horse. 

 The price was to be twenty dollars, 

 or at most twenty-five, and a five- 

 dollar bonus for going. As I had 

 nothing but a hundred-dollar bill and 

 no one here had change I gave it to 

 him. Charley, our cook, was stand- 

 ing near during the transaction. 

 He disappeared quickly toward the 

 'bar' to get a drink and thus forti- 

 fied, ejaculated to a group of loafers 

 ' Hun'red Jones Silver City hoss 

 be goll-darned!' 



"Such loquacity for him was 

 significant and I own I had mis- 

 givings, so I did not bother Sally 

 with the details of my little trans- 

 action. " 



"You said you had sent him to 

 get a horse, but I remember, it took 



