le
Demijohn would set in the shade of a tree--no tellin' how he got
there--and John would ride up and light down; when mebby Demijohn would
start off to town, bein' empty, and John after him like hell wasn't hot
enough 'less he sweat runnin'. And that young John would ride clean to
town just to say 'How' to that ole hocus. And it come that John got to
payin' more attention to Demijohn than he did to punchin' cows. Then
come a day when John got sick of chasin' Demijohn all over the range,
and he quit.

"But the first thing he knowed, Demijohn was a chasin' him. Every time
John rode in and throwed off his saddle there'd be ole Demijohn, settin'
in the corner of the corral or under his bunk or out in the box stall,
smilin' and waitin'. Finally Demijohn got to followin' John right into
the bunk-house, and John tryin' his durndest to keep out of sight.

"One evenin', when John was loafin' in the bunk-house, ole Demijohn
crawls up to his bunk and asks him, whisperin', if he ain't most always
give John a good time when they met up. John cussed, but 'lowed that
Demijohn was right. Then Demijohn took to pullin' at young John's sleeve
and askin' him to come to town and have a good time. Pretty soon John
gets up and saddles his cayuse and fans it for town. And that time him
and Demijohn sure had one whizzer of a time. But come a week later, when
John gits back to the ranch, the boss is sore and fires him. Then John
gits sore at the boss and at himself and at Demijohn and the whole
works. So he saddles up and rides over to town to have it out with
Demijohn for losin' a good job. But he couldn't lick Demijohn right
there in town nohow. Demijohn was too frequent for him.

"When young John wakes up next mornin' he is layin' under a tree, mighty
sick. He sees he is up on the high mesa, but he don' know how he got
there; only his pony is grazin' near by, with reins all tromped and the
saddle 'way up on his withers. John sets up and rubs his eyes, and there
he sees ole Demijohn settin' in the grass chucklin' to hisself, and his
back is turned to young John, for he don't care nohow for a fella when
he is sick. Ole Demijohn is always feelin' good, no matter how his
friends feel. Well, young John thinks a while, and pretty soon he moseys
over to a spring and gets a big, cold drink and washes his head, and
feels better.

"He never knowed that just plain water tasted so good till that mornin'.
Then he sets awhile, smellin' of the clean pi