“‘Skip,’ says I.  ’Fly for town and get married, and come back and tell Jonesy about it.  It’s a pesky sight stronger argument to tell him what you have done than what you’re going to do.’

“They couldn’t quite agree with that.  They thought it was sneaky.

“‘So it is,’ says I.  ’The first art of war is understanding how to make a grand sneak.  If you don’t want to take my advice you can wait.’  That didn’t hit ’em just right either.

“‘What will we wait for?’ says Kyle.

“’Exercise—­and the kind you won’t take when you get as old and as sensible as me.  You’re taking long chances, both of you; but it’s just like playing cards, you might as well put all your money on the first turn, win or lose, as to try and play system.  Systems don’t work in faro, nor love affairs, nor any other game of chance.  Be gone.  Put your marker on the grand raffle.  In other words take the first horse to town and get married.  Ten chances to one Jonesy will have the laugh on you before the year is out.’

“‘I don’t think you are a bit nice to-day, Red,’ says Loys.

“‘He’s jealous,’ says Kyle.

“‘That’s what I am, young man,’ says I.  ’If I had ten years off my shoulders, and a little of the glow off my hair, I’d give you a run for your alley that would leave you breathless at the wind-up.’

“‘I think your hair is a beautiful color, Red,’ says Loys.  ’Many a woman would like to have it.’

“‘Of course they would,’ I answered.  ’But they don’t get it.  I’m foxy, I am.’  Still I was touched in a tender spot.  That young woman knew Just the right thing to say, by nature.  ’Well, what are you young folks going to do?’ I asked them.

“They decided that they’d think it over until next day, but that turned out to be too late, for what must Kyle do but get chucked from his horse and have his leg broke near the hip.  You don’t want to take any love affairs onto the back of a bad horse, now you mark me!  There was no such thing as downing that boy when he was in his right mind.

“Now here was a hurrah!  Loys, she dasn’t cry, for fear of uncle, and Kyle, he used the sinfullest language known to the tongue of man.  ’Twas the first time I’d ever heard him say anything much, but he made it clear that it wasn’t because he couldn’t.

“‘What will we do, Red?  What will we do?’ says he.

“‘Now,’ says I, ’don’t bile over like that, because it’s bad for your leg.’

“He cussed the leg.

“‘Go on and tell me what we can do,’ says he.

“‘When you ask me that, you’ve pulled the right bell,’ says I.  ’I’ll tell you exactly what we’ll do.  I go for the doctor.  Savvy?  Well, I bring back the minister at the same time.  Angevine, he loses the Jersey cow over in the cane-break, and uncle and Angevine go hunting her, for not even Loys is ace high in uncle’s mind alongside that cow.  The rest is easy.’