'Of course I
do.' 'Well,' says he, 'let's kill him for Christmas and give that
little widow every ounce of the meat. It'll be a good one on her,
won't it? We'll fool her a plenty. Say nothing to the others,' he
added; and giving our horses the rein we rode into camp on a
gallop.
"Three days before Christmas we drove up this Wyoming stray and
beefed him. We hung the beef up overnight to harden in the frost,
and the next morning bright and early, we started for the
stage-stand with a good pair of ponies to a light wagon. We
reached the widow's place about eleven o'clock, and against her
protests that she had no use for so much, we hung up eight
hundred pounds of as fine beef as you ever set your peepers on.
We wished her a merry Christmas, jumped into the wagon, clucked
to the ponies, and merely hit the high places getting away. When
we got well out of sight of the house--well, I've seen mule colts
play and kid goats cut up their antics; I've seen children that
was frolicsome; but for a man with gray hair on his head, old
Bibleback Hunt that day was the happiest mortal I ever saw. He
talked to the horses; he sang songs; he played Injun; and that
Christmas was a merry one, for the debt was paid and our little
widow had beef to throw to the dogs. I never saw her again, but
wherever she is to-night, if my prayer counts, may God bless
her!"
Early in the evening I had warned my boys that we would start on
our return at ten o'clock.
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