But I'll tell you this much; she said she was goin' to make me one of the characters in that book she's writin'." "Well, now," said Miller, "that's sure lettin' you down easy.

Did she say what the character was goin' to be ?" "I reckon she did." "An' now you're goin' to tell us boys ?" "An' now I'm goin' to tell you boys," returned Skinny.

"But I reckon there's a drove of them characters here.

You'll find them with every outfit, an' you'll know them chiefly by their bray an' their long, hairy ears." The young man now smiled into his plate, while a chorus of laughter rose around him.

In making himself appear as ridiculous a figure as the others, the young man had successfully extracted all the sting from his story and gained the applause of even those at whom he had struck.
But now a sound was heard outside, and Leviatt came into the room.