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Tarkington, Booth, 1869-1946

"Penrod and Sam"

I'm goin' to hit him--"
"Quee-YUT!" Penrod shouted, grasping the handle of the rake so
that Sam could not use it. "Wait a MINUTE, can't you?" He turned
with ferocious voice and gestures upon Duke. "DUKE!" And Duke, in
spite of his excitement, was so impressed that he prostrated
himself in silence, and then unobtrusively withdrew from the
stable. Penrod ran to the alley doors and closed them.
"My gracious!" Sam protested. "What you goin' to do?"
"I'm goin' to keep this horse," said Penrod, whose face showed
the strain of a great idea.
"What FOR?"
"For the reward," said Penrod simply.
Sam sat down in the wheelbarrow and stared at his friend almost
with awe.
"My gracious," he said, "I never thought o' that! How--how much
do you think we'll get, Penrod?"
Sam's thus admitting himself to a full partnership in the
enterprise met no objection from Penrod, who was absorbed in the
contemplation of Whitey.
"Well," he said judicially, "we might get more and we might get
less."
Sam rose and joined his friend in the doorway opening upon the
two stalls. Whitey had preempted the nearer, and was hungrily
nuzzling the old frayed hollows in the manger.


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