"'Axle grease,' says Johnny, 'makes a p'int in civilization to which
the savage has not yet clambered, an' them optimists, East, who
sends it on yere, should have never made no sech break.'
"Mebby it's because this axle grease grows sullen an' feels
neglected that a-way; mebby it's the heats of two summers an' the
frosts of two winters which sp'iles its disp'sition; shore it is at
any rate that at the time I'm thar, that onguent seems fretted to
the core, an' is givin' forth a protestin' fragrance that has stood
off a coyote an' made him quit at a distance of two hundred yards.
You might even say it has caused Nacher herse'f to pause an' catch
her breath.
"It's when the ailin' Osage, whose malady is too deep-seated to be
reached by cinnamon or pimento, comes frontin' up for a third
preescription, that the axle grease idee seizes Johnny.
"'Father,' says Johnny, 'come with me. Your son will now saw off
some big medicine on you; a medicine meant for full-blown gents like
you an' me. Come, father, come with your son, an' you shall be cured
in half the time it takes to run a loop on a lariat.'
"Johnny breaks open one of the axle grease boxes, arms the savage
with a chip for a spoon, an' exhorts him to cut in on it a whole
lot.
Pages:
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81