Tied their tongues
into hard knots tryin' to tell me somethin' I didn't have time to
listen to, and looked like they wanted to see my hide hangin' on a
fence.
"Tige, he didn't take to 'em much. He kept walkin' back and forth
between me and them, talking as sensible as they did, I must say, and
makin' his meanin' full as clear. I dunno how we'd all 'a' come out,
if I hadn't brought Jemimy and the twins out and let 'em into the
argument. Them greasers didn't like the looks of old Jemimy, and they
backed off. Tige, he follered 'em right up, and soon's they got outa
reach of Jemimy, they took down their lariats an' tried to hitch onto
him.
"They didn't know Tige. That thar dawg's the quickest dawg on earth.
He hopped through their loops like they was playin' jump-the-rope
with him. Fact is, he'd learned jump-the-rope when he was a purp. He
wouldn't 'a' minded that, only they didn't do it friendly. One feller
whipped out his knife and throwed it at Tige--and he come mighty nigh
makin' dawg-meat outa him, too. Slit his ear, it come that close.
Tige ain't got no likin' fer greasers sence then. He thought you was
another bunch--and so did I. Mary, she put inside after Jemimy and the
twins.
"Know anything about them greasers? I see yuh got a sample along. T'
other crowd was headed by a slim feller all tricked up in velvet
and silver braid and red sash; called himself Don Jose Pacheco, and
claimed to own all Ameriky from the ocean over there, back to the
Allegheny Mountains, near as I could make out.
Pages:
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120