“My ——!” snorts Magpie. “Here we’ve had uh thousand dollars running
loose around here and didn’t know it. Ain’t that the limit?”
“Just uh case of grasping an opportunity when she comes your way,”
chuckles Tellurium, looking at his tickets again. “Some of us are wide
awake around here.”
“Uh-huh,” I agrees. “As far as I’m concerned I tries to get my regular
sleep.”
Tellurium pilgrims back across the street, and pretty soon we opines
that we might as well go and see what’s doing, so we enters Buck’s
place. Chuck leads the bird in, and ties it to uh leg of the
pool-table. The bird squats down on the floor, and Chuck mounts uh
chair.
“Gents,” says he, yelling for order. “We are gathered together here to
raffle off uh bird that nobody seems to know nothing about. I puts my
rope on it and, being it don’t show no brand, I claims it as mine. Am
I right?”
“According to law, Chuck,” admits the judge.
“Being all things is so we will proceed to raffle off said bird.
Gents, will the first number out of the hat win the bird or will we
draw more before the lucky number comes to view?”
“Make it three draws,” squeaks Scenery. “Third number out wins.”
The bunch seems satisfied, so Chuck takes up the hat with the numbers
in, and begins to shake ’em up.
“Who will do the drawing?” asks the judge. “We got to have this all
according to law.”
“You can’t, Judge,” states Tellurium. “You got too many chances. Let’s
get somebody what ain’t got no interest. Let Ike Harper do it.”
I didn’t want to be mixed up in the thing uh-tall, but uh feller can’t
refuse uh simple request like that, so I moves into position.
“Let her go, Ike,” squeaks Scenery. “If you draws my number I’ll make
you uh present of uh calf.”
“Just uh minute!” yells the judge. “That sounds to me like he was
trying to bribe or coerce the drawee. Scenery, you keep your mouth
shut. I’d be willing to make Mister Harper uh present of uh calf if he
drawed my number, but I ain’t proclaiming it.”