at last they got him to
the house and took off his coat and shoes and laid him on the bed, and
when Abram started to go Milly says, 'But where's Sam's mare?' And
Abram says, 'When Sam comes to himself to-morrow, you send him over to
my house and I'll put him on the track of his mare.' So the next
mornin' about eleven o'clock here was Sam lookin' about as reckless
and miserable as a man ever gits to look, and says he, 'I've come for
my mare, Uncle Abram; I see the stable door's open, so you needn't
bother yourself; I'll go down there and saddle her and ride her home.
I'm much obliged to you,' says he, 'for takin' care of her.'

"And Abram says, 'Sam, you may not know it, but that mare belongs to
me.' And Sam laughed and says he, 'I reckon I do owe you somethin' for
bringin' me home last night, but you surely won't take my horse for
that.' And Abram says, 'But, Sam, you swapped that mare to me
yesterday,' and Sam says, 'Swapped her? What did I swap her for?' And
jest then old Tige come around the corner o' the house waggin' his
tail, and Abram p'inted to him and says he, 'You swapped your mare for
that dog, Sam.'

"Well, for a minute Sam couldn't say a word he was so thunderstruck,
and says he, 'Do you mean to say, Uncle Abram, that I was such a fool
yesterday as to swap my bay mare, the finest piece o' horse flesh in
the State, for that old yeller dog, and me the best judge of horses in
Warren County?' 'Yes,' says Abram, 'you did that very thing, Sam, and
the swap was your own proposin'.'

"Well, Sam set down on the door step and folded his arms over his
knees and dropped his head on his arm, and he cursed himself and he
cursed the whiskey and he cursed the coffee house and finally, says
he, 'I swear, I'll never touch another drop o' the cursed stuff, and
all the devils in hell can't make me break my oath.'

"And Abram says, 'Well, Sam, I wanted to hear you make that promise,
and that's why I kept your mare. Now, go to the stable and you'll find
your mare all safe and sound and the saddle and bridle on the right
hand side o' the door. And may God give you grace,' says he, 'to keep
you from ever makin' such a fool of yourself again.'

"But, honey, it wasn't a month before Sam had to be hauled home again
in a wagon. And finally it got to the pass that he come home drunk,
late one Monday night, and struck Milly and kicked the children out o'
the house, and the next thing we heard was that Milly's father had
come to t