172 THE COUNTRY BOY 



again; but inside of twenty-four hours, he came 

 with just as broad a smile and said, "Well, 

 I've got back the big bay." And it was 

 through that kind of operations, the rake-off, 

 as it were, that went to the kitty, that Uncle 

 Ben got a good financial start. He traded 

 and retraded the horse for years. Every time 

 he passed out he was called "Old Broadfoot," 

 and every time he came back he was the "Big 

 Bay." 



Silverton kept growing more and more, and 

 traveling men with bigger diamonds began to 

 come to town. I drew pictures for lots of the 

 drummers, and several of them told me they 

 sent to Paris every few months to buy the 

 goods they sold in Silverton. They said that 

 in Paris most everybody drew pictures, and 

 that some day they'd take me. I told father 

 about their promise to take me to Paris, but 

 he only smiled. 



It seemed that I ought to be doing some- 

 thing. I was getting pretty big for my age, 

 and still there didn't seem to be anything that 

 I was just suited for. Finally, McjNIahan's 

 circus came, — a one-ring circus, — and they 



