The Prairie Detective: Secret Service Series No. 24 — page 42: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

40) THE PRAIRIE DETECTIVE. “Thank you,” responded Dan. ‘“‘I’ll be obliged if you will,” | Before he had fairly delivered himself of this brief speech, Ryan produced his bowie-knife and a wet- stone. He then proceeded to sharpen his blade, em-— ploying the time by terse replies to Dan’s many questions. “Thet animile?’’ he said, throwing a sidelong olance at his pet. “‘Why, thet’s what we call a cata- mount. Some folks call it a wild-cat.’’ “But I thought those were not capable of being tamed.’’ | ‘“‘Nuther they ain’t—ez a ginral thing. Cos why? Wal, cos nobody don’t know how to git to work at ,em. This yere one I ketched when she war a leetle bit of a kitten, not mor’n three days old. I brot her up on the bottl—made a wet-nuss- outer myself fer her benefit, an ’she ’preshyates it. Don’t ye, gal?’’ The inquiry was addressed to Vixen, who was regarding her master with a glance which seemed to say she understood every word. By way of reply, she rubbed her head against his knee affectionately. When Ryan’s knife had been sharpened satisfac- torily, he shaved away the hair from around Dan’s terrible wound, and then with a coarse needle stitched the gaping lips together. That accomplished, he bound up the spot, thus’ completing a clever bit of border surgery. The operation was far from painless, but Dan endured it with the stern courage of a stoic. All this time his strength was coming back, so that by the aid of another refreshing pull at the flask, he was soon able to walk. Up to this time Ryan had asked no question about Dan, and the detective did not feel called upon to comicbooks co