rn that look
into a smile.

"Well, they was the three of us got after one two year old--a bull and a
bad 'un. Shorty was on one side and me and Cuttle was on the other side.
Shorty daubed his rope and made a fair catch, but when his hoss set back
the rope busted plumb in two. Now, Shorty, he had an idea that he could
ease the work of his hoss a whole pile if he laid holts on the rope
whenever his hoss set down to flop a cow. So Shorty, he had holt on this
rope and was pulling back hard when the rope busted, and Shorty, he
spilled backwards out'n that saddle like he'd been kicked out.

"Whilst he was lyin' there, the bull, that had took a header when the
rope busted, come up on his feet agin, and I'll tell a man he was rarin'
mad! He seen Shorty lyin' on the ground, and he took a run for Shorty.
Me and Cuttle was laughin' so hard we couldn't barely swing our ropes,
but I made a throw and managed to get that bull around both horns. So my
Betty sits down and braces herself for the tug.

"In the meantime little Shorty, he sits up and lays a hand to his head,
and same time he sees that bull come tarin' for him. Up he jumps. And
jest then the bull come to the end of the line and wonk!--down he goes,
head over heels, and hits the sand with a bang that must of jostled his
liver some, I'll be sayin'!

"Well, Shorty, he seen that bull fly up into the air and he lets out a
yell like the world was comin' to an end, and starts runnin'. If he'd
run straight back the other way the bull couldn't of run a step, because
I had him fast with my rope, but Shorty seen me, and he come tarin' for
my hoss to get behind him.

"That bull was like a cat gettin' to his feet, and he sights Shorty
tarin' and lights out after him. There they went lickety-split. That
bull was puffin' on the seat of Shorty's trowsers and tossin' his horns
and jest missin' Shorty by inches; and Shorty had his mouth so wide open
hollerin' that you could have throwed a side of beef down his throat;
and his eyes was buggin' out. Them bow-legs of his was stretchin' ten
yards at a clip, most like, and the boys says they could hear him
hollerin' a mile away. But that bull, stretch himself all he could,
couldn't gain an inch on Shorty, and Shorty couldn't gain an inch on the
bull, till the bull come to the other end of the forty-foot rope, and
then, whang! up goes the heels of the bull and down goes his head, and
his heels comes over--wonk! and hits Shorty right square on