'
"'There's one branch o' your business that isn't mentioned on the card,'
I says.
"'What's that?' says he.
"'Horse-thief,' says I. 'You sent that feller here to steal a horse and
he got caught.'
"'Well I told him if he'd get me a good horse I'd give him five hundred
dollars and that I didn't care how he got him. The fact is I'm desperate.
I'll give you a thousand dollars for one of your horses.'
"'You couldn't buy one of 'em at any price,' I said. 'There's two
reasons. I wouldn't do business with a horse-thief and no money would
tempt me to sell an animal to be ridden to death.'
"The two thieves had had enough of us and they got out."
* * * * *
That night our party camped on the shore of the Kankakee and next day
they met the contractors. Lincoln joined the latter party and Harry and
Samson went on alone. Late that afternoon they crossed the nine mile
prairie, beyond which they could see the shimmer of the lake and the
sunlit structures of the new city.
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