But one day, and before the harness ever disgraced The Cougar's hide, a bunch of tourists had flocked into town to stay for a spell, and one of the crowd suggested a little horseback riding. The livery stable man was at once swamped with orders for saddle horses, and before he got thru tallying up how many he could furnish, he found he was short of about three. By scouting around, he dug up two more, but he was still short one, and then his eye fell on the mouse colored horse.
At first, he was for overlooking that horse entirely, but as he needed one more to finish up the party, he couldn't very well afford to overlook any horse that might do. He caught the horse and saddled him, and scared but game, he got in the saddle. If that pony still had one jump left in him, it was up to that old boy to find out, and one jump from that horse would be that much too many. He'd never do for no tourist then.
But The Cougar never even humped up as he was rode around the stable corrals. The man's legs begin to quit shaking, and as he sat there, his face gradually turned from blank white to natural color again, and then he begin to grin and show pleasant surprise as he noticed how well the horse reined whichever way was wanted.
"By japers," he remarked to the stable door, "this feller is a real saddle horse."
So, when the tourists, all togged up in their shiny riding habits, appeared some time later, the stable man was all ready and waiting for 'em. He sized 'em all up as to which would get along with each horse best, and being he was still dubious as to what The Cougar might do, he looked 'em all over careful once more till the strongest and most able looking young man in the bunch was spotted.
The Cougar's reins was handed to him, and sort of cautious, he asked:
"I suppose you know how to ride well?"
That young man turned on him, surprised at such a question, and answered sarcastic:
"Why certainly."
The stable man grinned as he watched him and all ride up the street; "Why certainly," he says to himself, and grinned some more. "I hope he's just as certain on his riding when he gets back."