Dan’l was supposed to sit on the bar and Smiley would say “Fly Dan’l! Fly!” and the big ol frog would leap straight up and grab a fly out’n the mid air. Zac didn’t believe that for a minute cause he knowed lots of frogs and they don’t take to orders no how.

Zac knew he was probably up to something but he didn’t care just as long as he paid good money for a frog. So he took the small bag from Kenneth and turned his back to Smiley saying he had to make sure it was the right one and when he turned back around he held up a slick fat frog.

“See there,” Zac said with pride, “look how big this here frog is. Why it might even be worth more’n twenty-five cents, maybe a half a dollar, what do you think?”

Smiley took hold of the frog and noticed right off his belly was sort of making tiny clicking sounds. He upended the frog and shot came sliding out of its mouth. “Say,” he says, “what’s this here nonsense?” he rolled the shot around in the palm of his hand for a few seconds staring at it intently.

“Well, it was just a joke.” Kenneth blurted out.

Smiley’s eyes narrowed and as the boys stuttered and stammered their excuses lest they lose the sale; they never noticed Smiley was far, far away in his thoughts. “I’ll take one, “ he said quickly, “and the rest of that shot there as well.”

“You will?” the three boys said almost as one.

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