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On the way back to camp, Blondey shied at a heap of decaying bones that were still attached to a magnificent pair of antlers. They were at the foot of a cliff, over which the animal had probably fallen. The gruesome sight was suggestive of the end of one of those shadowy creatures, fighting back there high up on the mountain in the mist and the darkness.
Nimrod was a great deal more undone than I. He had not dared to go fast for fear of making Blondey go faster, and he now came rushing up, with the fear of death upon his face and the most terrible swears on his lips. Although a good deal shaken, I began to laugh, the combination was so incongruous. Nimrod rarely swears, and was now quite unconscious what his tongue was doing.
She opened wider her very wide black eyes. "Are you bats?" she said. "I'm going to marry you and take you home with me, if I have to carry you off like a partridge." "Cleone, I tell you the man means it!" "You're right, Blondey. I never meant anything more in my life." A sudden shortness of manner crept over Mr. Kahn. "Man, you're drunk!" he cried, springing to his feet. "See my glass!"
Upon being assured that all was well, he started after Blondey and soon brought him back to me; but while he was gone the imp and I had a mortal combat. I did up my hair, rearranged my habit, and, rejecting Nimrod's offer of his quieter horse, remounted Blondey.
I just clung to the saddle, trusting to Blondey's instinct to follow the other animal, and tried to enjoy the fact that I was getting a new sensation. Even when one could see, every step was treacherous, but in that black fog I might as well have been blind and deaf. Then Blondey dislodged some loose rock, and went sliding down the mountain with it.
It's getting late, and if we want to be down on Cedar " "You think I'm kidding this little black-eyed chum of yours, don't you, Blondey?" "Sure not! You want 'er to grace the head of your table and wear the family heirlooms!"
Well, we got over it Blondey, the imp, and I with nothing worse than wet feet and shattered nerves. I attempted to mount, and had one foot in the stirrup and one hand on the pommel, when Blondey started. Like the girl in the song, I could not get up, I could not get down, and although I had hold of the reins, I had no free hand to pull them in tighter, and you may be sure the imp did not help me.
Of course, the fire would not burn, and the shoes would not dry. Blondey wandered off and had to be brought back, and it seemed an age before we were again in the saddle, following the trail the animals had made. But Nimrod was blithe and unconcerned, so I made no sign of the craven soul within me.
Blondey, realising there was something wrong, broke into a wild gallop across country, but I clung on, expecting every moment the saddle would turn, until I got my foot clear from the stirrup. Then I let go just as Blondey was gathering himself together for another ditch. I was stunned, but escaped any serious hurt.
That's how I know he's decent. So would you if you'd been in this business as long as me. Can't you tell a real honest-to-God man when you see one? A business man at that!" "You got me right, Blondey. Kahn, Loeb & Schulien, Ladies' Wear, St. Louis. Here's my card. You give me an hour to-morrow, Jingle Bells, and I'll do all the credential stuff your little heart desires.
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