Sube was the first to enter the barn and deposit his load of cast-offs on the floor, and as Gizzard came shuffling along a short distance behind looking down at his mismated feet, Sube grunted:
"Umgh, I'm glad that shoe didn't fall off'm you 'fore you got here; it fits you like a cup on a pump."
Gizzard snorted with rage. "I'll _show_ you how it fits," he threatened, "if you don't give me my other shoe! She give them shoes to _me_! She put 'em right in my hands, and they're mine!"
If Sube had been entertaining any ideas of taking the shoe from Gizzard by force, he did not show it, for when he spoke again his voice was calm and peaceful. "Listen here, Giz," he pleaded; "look at this bully gambler's suit. Jus' think of wearin' a suit like a feller that keeps a good tough pool hall! You gimme that other shoe, and I'll give you my share of this suit, and the red vest besides."
But Gizzard was not to be sidetracked. "What do I want of an ol' suit of clo's?" he demanded angrily. "I wouldn't give that shoe for a dozen of 'em! Now you gimme my shoe 'fore it falls off! She give that shoe to me, and it's _mine_!"
For a moment Sube hesitated; then he bent over and unbuttoned the lemon-colored shoe, and kicked it across the barn. "Take your ol' shoe!" he blurted out. "It's too small for me, anyway!"
"Ya-a-ah!" jeered Gizzard as he leaped after it. "Too small, nuthin'! Y'could of kicked it off without unbuttonin' it at all!"
"It pinched my foot, or you wouldn't have got it so easy," muttered Sube; "but let me tell you one thing, Mr. Gizzard--I get my pick of all the rest of the men's shoes we take in."
Gizzard felt that he could afford to be generous. "Sure you do," he assented readily. "But I can tell you that there won't be nuthin' to compare with these good ol' cloth-tops," he added as he finished buttoning the shoe which he had just put on, and began strutting up and down before Sube in a most tantalizing way.
This was too much for Sube, who stood up and pretended to yawn as he said, "Well, you better be gettin' 'em off so's we can go on collectin' things."
"Gettin' 'em off?" demanded Gizzard with an offended air. "I don't think I'll be gettin' 'em off. I'm goin' to wear 'em!"
"Wear those lookin' things in public?" sneered Sube. "Well, if you do, you'll go collectin' alone. _I_ won't go with you."