Still, this yere removal of Jaybird don't take place till
mighty near the close of the round-up; an' intervenin', he's
pirootin' 'round, stockin' the kyards an' settin' up hands on the
pore shorthorn continuous.
"One of Jaybird's jokes--'one of his best,' Jaybird calls it--
results in stampedin' the herd of cattle we-alls is bringin' along
at the time--bein' all cows an' their calves--to a brandin'-pen.
Which thar's two thousand, big an' little, in the bunch; an'
Jaybird's humor puts 'em to flight like so many blackbirds; an' it
takes two days hard ridin' for the whole outfit to bring 'em
together ag'in.
"Among other weaknesses this Todd imports from the States is, he's
afraid of snakes. Rattlesnakes is his abhorrence, an' if each is a
disembodied sperit he can't want 'em further off. He's allers
alarmed that mebby, somehow, a rattlesnake will come pokin' in onder
his blankets nights, an' camp with him while he's asleep. An' this
yere wretched Jaybird fosters them delusions.
"'About them serpents,' I overhears Jaybird say to him one evenin'
while we-alls is settin' 'round;--all but Moore an' Tutt, who's
ridin' herd; ''bout them serpents; a gent can't be too partic'lar.
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