The Young Fur Traders by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne
page 35 of 436 (08%)
page 35 of 436 (08%)
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'old 'im in no'ow, sir. I 'ad 'im down to the smith 'tother day, sir,
an' says 'e to me, says 'e, 'That's a screamer, that is.' 'Yes,' says I, 'that his a fact.' 'Well,' says 'e--" "Hang the smith!" cried the senior clerk, losing all patience; "can't you answer me without so much talk? Is the horse too wild to ride?" "Yes, sir, 'e is" said the groom, with a look of slightly offended dignity, and drawing himself up--if we may use such an expression to one who was always drawn up to such an extent that he seemed to be just balanced on his heels, and required only a gentle push to lay him flat on his back. "Oh, I have it!" cried Peter Mactavish, who had been standing during the conversation with his back to the fire, and a short pipe in his mouth: "John Fowler, the miller, has just purchased a new pony. I'm told it's an old buffalo-runner, and I'm certain he would lend it to Charley at once." "The very thing," said the senior clerk.--"Run, Tom; give the miller my compliments, and beg the loan of his horse for Charley Kennedy.--I think he knows you, Charley?" The dinner-bell rang as the groom departed, and the clerks prepared for their mid-day meal. The Senior clerk's order to _"run"_ was a mere form of speech, intended to indicate that haste was desirable. No man imagined for a moment that Tom Whyte could, by any possibility, _run_. He hadn't run since he was dismissed from the army, twenty years before, for |
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