The judge stared in blank amazement.
“Will you do me the favor and read these letters?” continued Ben.
Finding that Hogan was not after all so terrible a person to meet with, the judge proceeded to give him some points as to how he might get out of his present scrape. Acting upon these hints, Ben furnished straw bail, which was the best he could do.
The men who had really been responsible for the arrests were Golden, and one Christy—a lawyer not overburdened with clients. Naturally enough, Ben and his companions entertained no very friendly feelings toward Golden and Christy, and at a later day they took occasion to square up accounts.
While the case was progressing, Ben and Charley Green put up at Reynold’s Hotel, where they dealt a quiet little game of faro in their room, and made three hundred dollars during the night. It was encouraging for the indicted gentlemen to find that some of the court officials were their best customers.
The upshot of the trial was that all the parties under arrest signed a contract not to open a free-and-easy in the town within three months. It is only justice to add that Booke had in no way been connected with either of the establishments, and that he had simply been drawn into the matter with a view to extorting money from him.
All the persons concerned in the case left Parker’s, with the exception of Ben. How he managed to live up to his contract, and at the same time to run a free-and-easy, will be explained in another chapter.