DANNY'S OWN STORY BY DON MARQUIS TO MY ... - Pink Monkey

"Hank, he allowed he'd fix the hull thing fur
six bottles of that Injun medicine. Elmira has been
ailing lately, and he wanted it fur her. So they
handed Hank out six bottles then and there."
"Huh!" says Jake. "So the job is all paid
fur, is it?"
"Yes," says I, "and I was expecting to do it
myself. But now I guess I'll go fishing instead.
They ain't no other job in the shop."
"I'll be dinged if you've got time to fish," says
Jake. "I'm expecting mebby to buy that rig off
the town myself when the law lets loose of it. So
if the fixing is paid fur, I want everything fixed."
"Jake," says I, kind of worried like, "I don't
want to do it without that doctor says to go ahead."
"They ain't his'n no longer," says Jake.
"I dunno," says I, "as you got any right to make
me do it, Jake. It don't look to me like it's no
harm to beat a couple of fellers like them out of
their medicine. And I DID want to go fishing this
afternoon."
But Jake was that careful and stingy he'd try
to skin a hoss twicet if it died. He's bound to
get that job done, now.
"Danny," he says, "you gotto do that work.
It ain't HONEST not to. What a young feller like
you jest starting out into life wants to remember
is to always be honest. Then," says Jake, squinching
up his eyes, "people trusts you and you get a
good chancet to make money. Look at this here
hotel and livery stable, Danny. Twenty years
ago I didn't have no more'n you've got, Danny.
But I always went by them mottoes--hard work
and being honest. You GOTTO nail them shoes on,
Danny, and fix that wheel."