casting a pitying eye on Aleck.

"As time went on Aleck got worse and worse. He had a case of
ingrowing affection; it cut his weight down to ninety pounds. With
him leaving himself at that rate, you could take pencil and paper
and figure to the minute when Alexander Fulton was booked to cross
the big divide. And we liked the kid. In spite of his magnificent
feet, and his homeliness, and his thumb-handsidedness, I got to
feel sort of as if he was my boy--though if ever I have a boy like
Aleck, I put in my vote for marriage being a failure, and
everything lost, honor and all. Probably it was more as if he was
a puppy-dog, or some other little critter that couldn't take care
of itself. Anyhow, we got worked up about the matter, and talked
it over considerable when he was out of hearing. It come to this:
there was no earthly use in trying to get Aleck to go back and make
a play at the girl. He'd ha' fell dead at the thought of it. That
left nothing but to bring the girl to Aleck. You see, we thought
if we told the young woman that here was a decent honest
man--hurrying over the rest of the description--just evaporating
for love of her, that she might be persuaded to come out and marry
him. We weren't going to let our pardner slip away without an
effort anyhow. We couldn't do no less than try. Then come the
problem of who was the proper party to act as messenger. The rest
of us, without bothering him by taking him into our confidence,
decided that Scraggs was the proper man, because, if he didn't know
Women and her Ways, the subject belonged to the lost arts.

"But, man! Didn't he r'ar when we told him!

"'ME go after a woman!' says he. '_ME_!!!--Take another drink!'