“Well, as I sed before, he sidled up, an’ I sidled up, and now, sez I:
“ ‘Look out for your bread-basket, ole stud, for ef I happen to give you er jolt thar, p’raps it ’ill tarn your stomach.’
“So thar we stood, head an’ tail up, jest like two chicken-cocks in layin’ time, an’ sez I to him:
“ ‘Arch, I’m gwine to maul you till you won’t know yourself.’
“Soon as we got close enuff, an’ I see he was about to make er lunge at me, sez I:
“ ‘Hole on, dod drot you, wait till I unbutton my gallowses, an’ may be so then I’ll show you them sites what we was talkin’ ’bout.’
“Well, all the fellers was stannin’ round ready to take sides in the fight, an’ toreckly the chap what kep’ the ferry begin to get tired of keepin’ thar ferry-boat waitin’, an’, sez he:
“ ‘Cuss your pictures! I’m not gwine to keep this here ferry-boat waitin’ no longer, an’ people on t’other side waitin’ to go over, so if you want to fight, come over on this side an’ fight there.’
“ ‘Good as ole wheat,’ sez I, anything to keep peace away, ‘ef you say so, let’s get into the boat, and settle it over thar.’
“Well, they all agreed to that without sayin’ a word, an’ Arch he got into the ferry-boat. I jumped into the eend of it, and was gwine to lead my hoss on too, but the all-fired critter was skeered to jump on to it, and sez I to the man who kept the ferry, sez I: