And then, I've met him 'long the road,
a-lopin',—starin' straight
Ahead,—and yit he never knowed
me when I hollered "Yate,
Old Saddlebags!" all hearty-like,
er "Who you goin' to kill?"
And he'd say nothin'—only hike
on faster, starin' still!
VIII
I'd bin insulted, many a time,
ef I jes wuzn't shore
Doc didn't mean a thing. And I'm
not tetchy any more
Sence that-air day, ef he'd a-jes
a-stopped to jaw with me,
They'd bin a little dorter less
in my own fambily!
IX
Times now, at home, when Sifers' name
comes up, I jes let on,
You know, 'at I think Doc's to blame,
the way he's bin and gone
And disapp'inted folks—'Ll-jee-mun-nee!
you'd ort to then
Jes hear my wife light into me—
"ongratefulest o' men!"