THE COWARDLY COUGAR 



"What's a trade rat?" some one poison- 

 ously inquired. 



' ' He's a kind of rat that never takes anything 

 without leaving something in its place may- 

 be nothing more than a twig or a pebble, but 

 something. You'll see their nests all over this 

 country. I had a party out once, and there 

 was a woman in it. One day she lost a pair 

 of gloves. We couldn't find 'em any place, 

 and the next night she lost her pocketbook 

 with all her change in it. I told her a trade 

 rat probably had it, but she allowed a trade 

 cowboy had probably done the trick. I saw 

 she didn't believe there was any such rats, 

 and she went home thinking one of my boys 

 had robbed her. It made me feel awful bad. 



"The next year I camped in that very place, 

 and in the morning I found one of those gloves 

 in the grub box and one of my spoons gone. I 

 put Pot-hound on the trail he'll track any- 

 thing I tell him to and he run Mr. Rat down 

 in short order. In the nest I found that 

 other glove and the lady's pocketbook, along 

 with a lot of table silver I'd lost at odd times. 

 I sent the pocketbook to the lady, but I bet 

 she thinks I'd ought to pay interest for the 

 time I used her money." 



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