"'On account of the requests of the humane society, the mayor, and several prominent ladies now present in the audience, we will do our best to prevent Go-Go from eatin' his snakes alive but——' and right there was the nigger's cue to come in.
"'Oww-wah!' he'd yell, shakin' his chain and tearin' around in his box, 'Ow-woo-wah!' And then he'd grab up them pore, sufferin' rattlesnakes and sech, and quile 'em around his neck, and snap his teeth like he was bitin' heads off—and me, I'd pop my whip and shoot off my pistol, and scare them fool people most to death.
"Well, that was the kind of an outfit it was, and one day when the nigger was quieted down between acts and playin' with a rag-doll we had give him in order to make him look simple-minded-like, a big, buck Injun from the Wild West Show come in with the bunch and looked at Go-Go kinder scary-like. You know——"
A noise of scuffling feet made the story-teller pause, and then the gang of card players came tumbling out of the bunk-house.
"Let's roast some ribs," said one.
"No, I want some bread and lick," answered another.
"What's the matter with aigs?" broke in a third.
"Say, you fellers shut up, will you?" shouted a man by the fire. "Old Brig's tellin' us a story!"
"Oh, git 'im a chin-strap," retorted the bull-voiced Buck. "I want some ribs!"
"Well, keep still, can't ye?" appealed the anxious listener; but silence was not on the cards. The chuck-box was broken open and ransacked for a butcher-knife; then as Buck went off to trim away the ribs of the cook's beef, Hardy Atkins and his friends made merry with the quiet company.