The very Spanish name of the prune orchard impressed him, and so did the formal business terms used by J.Paul Smith; and that "thanking you in advance" seemed to place him under a moral obligation too great to shirk.

There was the note, too,-- heavy green paper with a stag's head printed on it, and looking almost like a check.
"Well, all right, if it don't cost too much and the time don't run too long," surrendered Casey reluctantly.

"How much--" "Fare's a little over twenty-five dollars, an' they'll be four full fares an' three half.

I guess mebby I better have a hundred an' seventy-five anyway, so'st we kin eat on the way." Casey chanced to have almost that much coming to him out of the business, so that he would not be lending Bill's money.

He watched the lean Smith fill in the amount and sign the note, identifying the truck by its engine and license numbers, and he went and borrowed fifteen dollars from the proprietor of the Oasis and made up the amount.