PAINTED ROCK
did hanker to own 'em. I said to Cheviot, 'Waal, Cheviot, some would envy you this great caystle, and some would pine to be a yearl, but all I says is that if folks offered me horses of this stamp in exchange for my immortal soul I'd be horrid scared to face the awful choice.' And he laffed, and said I could any rate ride one if I liked, and that he'd one no man could ride if I'd like to try him. And me bein' a real broncho buster, as you boys know, I reduced that haughty animal to miserable subjection in twenty minutes by the golden hands of his clock in the stables. And the stablemen and grooms who'd grinned to see me tackle the broncho was some surprised. And then it appeared that there was a lot of ladies comin', and they fazed me a deal more than any untamed, fiery mustang; but Cheviot, who was some cynical, cheered me up by sayin' horses and womenfolk was all the same all the world over, and that I needn't be scared. So I bucked up, and when a duchess asked me how I was, I said, 'Quite hunky, Duchess,' and she looked some surprised at something, but what it was I couldn't say.
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