ith me to the cook house
and I'll see if there ain't something left over."

Despite the nature of his calling as a tamer of ferocious denizens of
the tropic jungle, Mr. Riley, upon wakening, proved to be a person of a
fairly amiable disposition. He made it snappy but not unduly burdensome
as he initiated Red Hoss into the rudimentary phases of the new
employment. As the forenoon wore on the conviction became fixed in Red
Hoss' mind that for an overlord he had a white man who would be apt to
listen to reason touching on any proposition promising personal profits
with no personal risks.

Sharp upon this diagnosis of his new master's character, a magnificent
idea, descending without warning like a bolt from the blue, struck Red
Hoss on top of his head and bored in through his skull and took prompt
root in his entranced and dazzled brain. It was a gorgeous conception;
one which promised opulent returns for comparatively minor exertions. To
carry it out, though, required cooperation, and in Riley he saw with a
divining glance--or thought he saw--the hope of that cooperation.

In paving the way for confidential relations he put to Riley certain
leading questions artfully disguised, and at the beginning seemingly
artlessly presented. By the very nature of Riley's answers he was
further assured of the safety of the ground on which he trod, whereupon
Red Hoss cautiously broached the project, going on to amplify it in
glowing colors the while Riley hearkened attentively.

It was a sheer pleasure to outline a proposition to a white gentleman
who received it so agreeably. Fifteen minutes after the first tentative
overtures had been thrown out feeler-wise, Red Hoss found that he and
Riley were in complete accord on all salient points. Indeed they already
were as partners jointly committed to a joint undertaking.

After the third and last afternoon performance, in which Red Hoss,
wearing a proud mien and a somewhat spotty uniform coat, had acquitted
himself in all regards creditably, Riley gave him a leave of absence of
two hours, ostensibly for the purpose of quitting his boarding house and
collecting his traveling wardrobe. As a matter of fact, these details
really required but a few minutes, and it had been privily agreed
between them that the rest of the time should be devoted by Red Hoss to
setting in motion the actual preliminaries of their scheme.

This involved a personal call upon Mr. Moe Rosen, who conducted a hide,
p