ully offered twenty-five cents for the creature. 'Arturo
stuck bravely to his intended price of "four bits," but the train
creaked for starting, and, alarmed, the boy hastily handed over the
toad, took the quarter of a dollar, and rushed off the train.

The old gentleman shouted from the platform for instructions as to
feeding his pet, 'axed Arturo shouted back advice in broken English
to let it catch "muchos, muchos" (many) flies, and have "mucho,
mucho" air. The toad was in a pasta-board box at present. Arturo was
anxious that it should be well treated, for the boy felt it would
not be fair to make the creature a prisoner, and then sell it to
somebody who would starve it.

The old gentleman seemed satisfied with the shouted directions. But
when the train had puffed away, Arturo sat down and wrathfully
looked at his quarter of a dollar.

"He had altos pesos!" Arturo muttered; "ought give four bit."

According to Arturo's belief, every American had in his possession
"altos pesos," which is Spanish for "high" or "enormous" "dollars,"
or, as Americans say, "a pile of money." Therefore Arturo felt sure
that the old gentleman ought to have given half a dollar for the
horned toad.

Arturo was now not at all inclined to give tia Marta the twenty-five
cents. He wanted the money himself. Tia Marta was going to wash for
somebody to-day, and would get her pay.

What should he buy? Twenty-five cents must not be spent lightly. It
was not so often that a horned toad was found or sold.

Arturo did not muse long alone. Another boy had heard Arturo's
shouted advice to the old gentleman, and had told two or three
comrades. They came about Arturo to proffer advice. "Bollos," or
cakes, were joyfully suggested, but Arturo refused.

An older Spanish boy, Manuel, joined the company. He was a lazy
fellow, whom a good many of the younger boys admired because he
could play a guitar and because he wore cheap jewelry that seemed
gorgeous to inexperienced eyes.

Manuel approved of Arturo's rejection of the cake proposition. What
good was cake? It would be soon eaten and gone!

Manuel, who was ever bent on securing any money that he could obtain
without work, proposed to Arturo that he should buy a certain
watch-chain owned by himself. Manuel, who knew that the showy thing was
worthless, tried to picture how a fine-looking boy like Arturo would
appear with so gorgeous an ornament. The younger boys listened
enviously, and Arturo's Spani