But, seeing a chance to tantalize him, I said:

"Doctor, who do you want me to divide with?"

"With me," he shouted. "Whom do you suppose?"

"Well, thunderation! Doctor; it was my property we traded off. Why
should I give you half the profits?"

"Great Heavens!" he screamed. "Think of it! One shilling's worth of
property!"

Then he sizzled around for awhile, and said I was worse than Sam, the
horse-shark; because Sam didn't practice beating his friends, and I did,
according to that deal.

I offered the harness to the Doctor as his share of the deal. He
refused, and abused me roundly, till I took him in as full partner on
the whole thing.

The next day Sam came in the hotel, and handing me one of the rings that
had turned perfectly black, asked me if that was one I traded him. I
told him it looked like it in shape, but not in color. He asked if I
had any more like it, but assured me that he was no squealer, and would
never "kick" if I had traded him brass jewelry for his farm, only he
simply wanted to know how badly he had been "done up." I showed him what
I had, and gave them to him. He said he would take better care of that
lot than he did the first, and would try and get even in some way.

A day or two later he came in, and asked what I had to trade. I told him
I had a note of one hundred and forty-two dollars, past due, against a
young man in Battle Creek, Michigan, which I had traded patent rights
for, and I would trade it for a horse. He looked it over, and said he
would think of it. A few days later he came in again and asked how I
would trade the note for his horse standing outside. After looking the
animal over, I offered to trade for twenty-five dollars. He said he
would trade even, and a few minutes later we made the deal, and I took
the animal to the stable.

The Doctor was more pleased over this trade than I was, and so much so
that I began to think he expected a half interest in it, and asked him
if he did.

He said he did not; but it pleased him to see me get the best of Sam,
the horse-shark.

About ten days later, as the Doctor and I were going into the post
office together, we met Sam just as he had opened a letter from Battle
Creek, containing a draft for the full amount of the note with interest,
all amounting to something near one hundred and fifty dollars. Sam said
he had written to a banker there before he traded for the note, and
ascertained it was all right.

The Doctor turned gh