FINDING THE PEA 



at home, managed to throw him, but he wouldn't 

 let me hit him, rolling over on his face just by a big 

 cedar-tree. I tried to get a fist round by his ears, 

 but he dodged me, and all I could do was to rub his 

 face against the cedar-tree singing out, "You won't 

 be so fresh after this." Really I don't believe that I 

 had much of a temper before that day but that scrap 

 developed it — or rather started it. 



We were quite a happy family with Talbot. We 

 used the horses for riding half-mile races against other 

 horses at the Fair. Talbot used to be the jockey, and 

 afterwards he would ride in circus dress two of them 

 barebacked. He gave capital exhibitions of riding 

 and was a good all-round showman. I never knew 

 where he came from but I should say at some time 

 or other he had been a clown in a circus. He would 

 fight on the slightest provocation and would some- 

 times suggest by the look of his face that he had been 

 through a pretty rough gruelling the night before. 

 But he wouldn't talk much about all this. It wasn't 

 that he used to get drunk and fly into a brawl at a 

 saloon, but would scrap for the love of it. One day I 

 remember at a country fair he sent me down from the 

 ticket office with a dollar to get small change. I was 

 passing one of the stalls where they were doing the 

 three shell and pea trick. I watched for about ten 

 minutes and at first they took very little notice of the 

 small kid. At last I couldn't stand the temptation 

 any more and I called out, " I'll bet you a dollar that 

 I know where the pea is." 



The grafter answered, " I can't bet with you, you're 

 too young and small, but this gentleman can, if you 

 like to give him the dollar." 



Of course the " gentleman " was the booster or 

 buttoner — ^as the tout for the three-card game is 



13 



