e; an' when I finally let him up he was mortal
shamed of himself.

It was plumb dark by the time I let him up, an' I watered him an' fed
him an' rubbed him until he began to eat, an' that was the last bother
any man ever had with Pluto; but I was the only one he'd mind without
bein' chainbitted. He counted me his best friend, an' after a while he
got so he'd play with me--nip my ear with his lips an' such things,
which I count as bein' a game way of takin' punishment. Still, it ain't
just gettin' beat, it's havin' it rubbed in that makes a feller bitter.

I walked around to where Starlight an' Hawkins was enjoyin' their
evenin' meal, an' I was mortal proud of the condition they was in. I
reckon the' wasn't another pair in the territory 'at could 'a' covered
their ante that day, an' it was a feather in Uncle Happy's cap all
right.

But all the time I was thinkin' o' these things I was dreadin' havin'
it out with Jabez. He was contrairy enough at the best; but all bunged
up, I could see my self-control gettin' strained twice a minute. I knew
enough about us both to know 'at whenever it came to a show down, it
meant a breakin' of home ties, an' I hated to cut loose from Barbie.
After a while, I washed up, fed up, an' went in to have it over with.

CHAPTER SEVEN

MENTAL TREATMENT FOR A BROKEN LEG

Barbie an' three of the boys were in the room when I went in. Barbie
was tellin' the old man of our ride, an' the three punchers sat with
the rims of their lids between thumb an' finger, lookin' at the floor
as solemn as if they was on trial for their life. Barbie had just
finished about our meetin' up with Melisse when I stepped in.

"Who's boss o' this place?" sez Jabez to me.

"If the' is any boss," sez I, "I reckon you're it."

"Who told you you could be gone all day?" sez he.

"Nobody told me. Nobody told me what was to be done if I stayed. Nobody
hasn't told me what to do on a ranch for some several years. Why?"

"Looks to me as if you 'd have sense enough not to risk this child's
life with your fool nonsense," sez he. I looked at him calm an' steady,
an' I didn't grin--much.

He knew all 'at I was thinkin' of,--about my leavin' the last time an'
also about my comin' back,--but he also knew 'at I knew he was thinkin'
of the same thing, an' that we'd neither of us mention it, an' that it
wouldn't ever weigh an ounce in whatever happened to come between us. I
didn't say anything.

"What makes you humor