You know how a calf is: a calf ain’t afeared o’ nothin’ except hunger. Here was his food-supply bein’ robbed, right when he was needin’ it. He blatted down in his throat, an’ tried to nose Horace out of the way. Horace was findin’ that milk the best stuff he had ever tasted, an’ he fought off the calf with his right hand, while he steadied himself by puttin’ his left on the hind leg o’ the calf’s mother, an’ got a nice coat o’ creamy froth in his side-burns. He was so blame hungry he didn’t see a speck o’ humor in it; but me an’ Tank nearly died.
“Say,” sez Horace, raisin’ his head, the milk drippin’ from his lips, “can’t one o’ you fellers fend off this calf till I finish?”
Tank held the calf while I advised Horace to be temperate, an’ after a bit he gave a sigh an’ said, that that was all he could hold just then, but not to let the cow escape. We loosened her, left one o’ the ropes on for a drag picket, an’ took off the other. She was purty well subdued; but we refused to give Horace any more milk that night, an’ he went to sleep before we had a fire built. Spider Kelley was wabblin’ with laughter when he brought us our supper. He had been the only one who could stay after bringin’ up the cow; but he said he wouldn’t ’a’ missed it for three jobs.
[CHAPTER TWELVE—A COMPLETE CURE]
Next mornin’ we fed Horace all the milk he could hold, an’ tried to drive the cow along with us; but her hoofs had been pared so thin that it made her cross an’ we had to give that projec’ up.
“How far are we from the ranch house?” asked Horace.
“About sixty miles,” sez Tank.
“That’s what I thought,” sez he. “Now, I can’t see any sense in all of us hoofin’ that distance. I’d go if I knew the way; but one of you could go, an’ the other stay with me an’ the cow. Then the one which went could bring back food on the buckboard, and it would be as good as if we all went.”
Now this was a fine scheme; but neither Tank nor I had thought of it. We had intended to follow our own windin’ circle back every step o’ the way; but when the milk set Horace’s brain to pumpin’, he fetched up this idee which saved us all a lot o’ bother.
“I shall go myself,” sez Tank; “weak as I am, I’ll go myself.”