have talked no more
than Bowlaigs, I'd been happy yet.'
"The Major's got a diminyootive wickeyup out to the r'ar of the corral,
an' him an' Bowlaigs resides tharin. This habitat of the Major an'
Bowlaigs ain't much bigger than a seegyar box; it's only eight foot by
ten, is made of barn-boards an' has a canvas roof. That's the kind of
ranch Bowlaigs an' the Major calls 'home'; the latter spreadin' his
blankets on one side while Bowlaigs sleeps on t'other on the board
floor, needin' no blankets, havin' advantage over the Major seein' he's
got fur.
"The dispoote between Bowlaigs an' the Major which results in both of
'em cashin' in, gets started erroneous. The Major--who's sometimes too
indolent an' sometimes too drunk to make the play himse'f--instructs
Bowlaig how to go over to the Red Light an' fetch a bottle of rum. The
Major would chuck a silver dollar in a little basket, an' Bowlaigs
would take it in his mouth same as you-all has seen dogs, an' report
with the layout to Black Jack. That gent would make the shift, bottle
for dollar, an' Bowlaigs would reepair back ag'in to the Major, when
they'd both tank up ecstatic.
"One mornin' after Bowlaigs an' the Major's been campin' together about
four months, they wakes up mighty jaded. They've had a onusual spree
the evenin' prior an' they feels like a couple of sore-head dogs. The
Major who needs a drink to line up for the day, gropes about in his
blankets, gets a dollar, pitches it into the basket an' requests
Bowlaigs to caper over for the Willow Run. Bowlaigs is nothin' loth;
but as he's about to pick up the basket, he observes that the dollar
has done bounced out an' fell through a crack in the floor. Bowlaigs
sees it through the same crack where it's layin' shinin' onder the
house.
"Now this yere Bowlaigs is a mighty sagacious b'ar, also froogal, an'
so he goes wallowin' forth plenty prompt to recover the dollar. The
Major, who's ignorant of what's happened, still lays thar groanin' in
his blankets, feelin' like a loser an' nursin' his remorse.
"The first p'inter the Major gets of a new deal in his destinies is a
grand crash as the entire teepee upheaves an' goes over, kerwallop! on
its side, hurlin' the Major out through the canvas. It's the
thoughtless Bowlaigs does it.
"When Bowlaigs gets outside, he finds he can't crawl onder the teepee
none, seein' it's settin' too clost to the ground; an' tharupon, bein'
a one-ideed b'ar, he sort o' runs
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