A RANCHMAN'S RECOLLECTIONS 



"Purty soon it was no use ; they was gone. A mes- 

 quite limb brushed me off, an' when I lit Sam Conroy 

 was squattin' on the other side. I squatted, too. 

 Lightnin' hit a mesquite close by an' we moved out 

 some, an' set takin' the storm for a long time with- 

 out sayin' a word. 



"A storm reminds me of an ole cow on the prod. 

 She'll fight for a while, but she loads, an' the storm 

 was gettin' ready to load. It quit howlin', and begin 

 to groan, an' was passin'. Sam turns to me an' sez, 

 'Mage, I've been tellin' the Ole Marster that if He'll 

 jest take me through this all right I'd try to make it 

 up to Him in the way I lived from now on,' an' I 

 sez, 'Sam, I'd a' liked to throwed in with you on thet,' 

 an' Sam sez, 'Mage, I knowed you would from the 

 way you was dodgin' Obe durin' his storm conversa- 

 tion, so I jest put your name in the pot.' An' I sez, 

 'Thank you, Sam.' 



"The next day after we got the herd together, me 

 an Sam was trailin' together, an' his boss stepped into 

 a badger hole, givin' Sam a fall, an' he lets out a few 

 that wasn't jest parson talk, an' then he thinks an' 

 sez, 'Mage, I'm a-goin' to make it up to Him all 

 right, but I guess I'll have to hobble myself and put 

 on a hackamore.' " 



[175] 



