"Butsy gets up.
"'Just one more snicker out of either of you,' he says, ''n' I lead my
hoss to the depot!'
"I see he means it 'n' I gets my head down in the straw 'n' holds my
breath. Butsy stands there a-lookin' at us.
"'Has Alf come yet?' says Peewee, but he don't look at me.
"'Not yet, but he's expected,' I says, 'n' Peewee sticks his head down
in the straw 'n' makes a noise like Harry Evans' machine. I does the
same.
"As soon as I can see again, there's Butsy leadin' his hoss fur the
gate.
"'Now you've done it,' I says to Peewee.
"Peewee sets up 'n' takes a look.
"'Hi, Butsy!' he yells, 'come on back here! We weren't laughin' at
you!'
"But Butsy keeps right on a-goin'."
THE BIG TRAIN
The moon had acted as a stimulant to my thoughts, and the contented
munching sound as the "string" of horses consumed their hay was not
sedative enough to calm my utter wide-awake-ness.
"Why have you put bars across the door of that stall?" I asked Blister
Jones, trying to rouse him from his placid mood. He pulled a straw
from the bale upon which we sat, before replying.
"The Big Train's in there," he said quietly.
"No; is that a fact?" I cried, as I jumped to my feet and walked to the
door across which were the heavy wooden bars that had attracted my
attention. Peering through these I could see nothing, nor was there
any sound toward which I might have strained my eyes.
"I guess he's not at home," I said.
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