"Ping run off from home on ther quiet ter join our outfit, leavin' ther
goat to home, locked up in ther barn. Ping thought he hed ther goat
faded, but one day, when we wuz half asleep in our saddles, a feller
over on ther other side come a-runnin' in.

"'What's ther matter?' sez I.

"Thar's a funny animile over here. He shore is ther devil, fer he wears
horns, an' hez a face exactly like thet o' ole man Pillsbury. I ain't
bettin' none it ain't him. But if it is Pillsbury, he better not go
home lookin' like thet 'thout lettin' his wife know first.'

"Ping an' me rode over ter ther other side, an' thar stood a goat,
lookin' so nice an' socierble.

"'Great hevings!' shouted Ping, makin' a rush fer ther goat, 'thet's my
goat Ezra, ain't you?'"

"Did the goat understand him?"

"Did he understand him? Well, I should whisper sweetly. Why, thet goat
jest jumped all over Ping, a-runnin' his whiskers inter his eyes, an'
laughin', he wuz so glad ter see him. He'd traced Ping plumb ercross
ther desert ter get ter us, an', o' course, we couldn't sic him home
after that.

"We all got ter love Ezra fer his lovely ways; that is, all except
'Boney Bill' Henderson."

"Why? Didn't the goat like him?"

"Well, it wuz this way: Boney Bill had a habit o' beggin' ther grease
from ther fryin' pan every night ter ile his boots. This made 'em good
an' strong, ez well ez easy ter chew on. One night, Ezra bein' fond o'
boots, finds 'em an' chews ther tops off'n 'em. They wuz ther only boots
Bill hed, an' we wuz two hundred mile ter another pair, so Bill hed ter
go through ther season barefoot, an' ther sun jest nacherly warped his
feet out o' all shape.

"But thet wuzn't what I wuz goin' ter tell yer erbout. That fall ther
Utes went on ther warpath, an' wuz headin' our way, an' I want ter tell
yer we wuz some scared. We hed several brushes with ther Injuns, an'
ther courier we sent ter ther fort fer help wuz killed an' scalped.

"Thar we wuz, in a little valley entirely surrounded by Injuns thirstin'
fer our gore. How long we could hold out agin' 'em wuz ther problem. But
whenever one o' 'em showed his head we took a pop at it, an' they
returned ther compliment. We wuz prayin' fer ther comin' o' ther
soldiers, which wuz ther only thing what could save us from a horrible
death.

"Ther Injuns got next ter ther fact thet our ammunition wuz runnin'
short, an' they wuz gittin' some gay; sorter takin' advantage o' us in a
way. I could se