Billy Whiskers | Page 7

and lying on a pile of straw in the light he saw a beautiful white Nanny goat, that made his old heart palpitate with delight, he was so glad to see one of his own tribe again.
Nanny lay there unconscious of his presence; apparently bleating in her sleep, she lay so still. As she did not move Billy concluded to awaken her so he bleated "Good evening" to her. He had only gotten half through his salutation when she jumped up quickly as if she had been touched with an electric wire, and looking around with a frightened stare, said:
"Good gracious, how you frightened me! Who are you, and where are you, for I see no one?"
"You can't see me, but I am here all the same, at the other side of the shed, looking at you through the knot hole. My name is Billy Whiskers and I come from nowhere in particular and I am bound for the same place. Now, tell me your name and the name of the people you are living with."
"My name is Nanny O'Hara and I live with a family of the same name but I belong to their eldest son, Mike."
"And does he treat you good, my fair friend?" asked Billy.
"Oh, yes," answered Nanny, "as well as boys generally do, but he often makes me pull heavy loads and forgets to feed and water me sometimes."
"Oh, the brute," said Billy, "to make anyone as handsome as you pull heavy loads. How I wish I could help you, for I am strong and used to pulling large loads. The next time he makes you do it just run into a tree and upset his cart, or better still, run away altogether and find someone else to live with."
"Oh, Mr. Billy, I would not dare do either, I am so timid."
"Hark, here comes some one and we must not let them hear us talking," said Billy, "So ta-ta, I'll see you to-morrow."
Sure enough they had heard some one talking. It was Tim Rooney and his chum, Mike O'Hara, whom he was bringing to show his goat. As they unfastened the door, Billy heard Mike say:
"I tell you, Tim, what I will do if he turns out as fine a goat as you say he is. I'll give you a dollar and a half for him."
"So ye'll give me a dollar and a half, will ye? Well I like that--a dollar and a half for the finest goat ye ever laid your two eyes on! Not much--what do ye take me for, an idjet? I don't want er sell but if ye'll offer injucements enough I may think about it, for we have no cart or harness fine enough for so handsome a goat as this one."
"Well, open the door and let's see him," said Mike.
Tim opened the door and there stood Billy Whiskers in all his glory with his most dignified expression mixed with a little disgust, for had he not heard himself valued at a dollar and a half,--he that had brought twenty dollars in his day!
Tim tied a rope around Billy's neck and led him out of the shed and then the bargaining began again.
"Well, since I have seen him," says Mike, "and find he is pretty large, I'll raise my bid to two dollars cash."
"Not on your life will I sell him for that," said Tim.
"Then how does three strike you, or you keep your goat for I won't pay another cent. It costs too much to keep a big goat like that; they eat up everything on the place."
This Tim well knew and as he was short of money and a circus was coming to town the next week, he decided to let him go. But not without one last effort to get a little more out of Mike. Now Mike had a hunting knife Tim had long coveted, though it had a rusty blade and a wobbly handle, so he said:
"I'll tell you what I'll do, Mike. I'll let you have him for three dollars cash and your hunting knife with a package of cigarettes thrown in."
"All right, it's a go!" said Mike. So Mike took hold of Billy's rope and led him into his yard and thus Billy changed hands once more and became the property of Mike O'Hara.
[Illustration]

Billy Gives the Boys a Ducking in the Mill Pond
When Mike O'Hara became the possessor of Billy Whiskers he felt as proud as a peacock, for he knew he had made a good bargain and got the best of Tim Rooney for once in his life, and this pleased him mightily as Tim generally got the best of him in a trade.
When he reached his own yard, he called over the fence for Tim to come and see what Billy and