The conference took place in Johnny Behan’s office, and after the lawyer’s departure on this errand the outlaw remained there pacing the floor. Half an hour passed; a man had brought Ringo’s pony from the O.K. corral and left it at the hitching-rack before the court-house. Everything was in readiness––except the cash. Finally Goodrich returned.
“All right,” he told the sheriff, who was seated at his desk. “I’ve got the bail here, Johnny. Everything’s arranged.”
And Johnny Behan, who was, if the truth be owned, a very easy-going peace officer indeed, bade his prisoner depart. He did not know––and Goodrich did not know––that on this occasion the bailing out of John Ringo was going to be something more than a mere formality.
So it came about that a number of people met with surprises this same morning. Included in these were a delegation from the law-and-order party who rode over to Charleston to gather in Curly Bill but got no further than the approach to the bridge which spanned the San Pedro River. A solitary figure at the other end of the structure made them draw rein. John Ringo’s voice reached them from across the stream.
“Come on,” he called. “I’m waiting for you.”
Something had gone wrong, and when something goes wrong the wise general does well to investigate before continuing his advance. The posse deliberated briefly; 148 and then turned back for Tombstone. But their astonishment at finding the leader of the desperadoes at large was as nothing compared to Johnny Behan’s bewilderment when he met the district judge in the court-house corridor some time near noon.
“I’ll be ready to take up the matter of that man Ringo’s bail in a few minutes,” Judge Stilwell said pleasantly.
The sheriff remained inarticulate for several seconds. Finally––
“Ringo!” he managed to gasp. “Why, he’s gone. I thought–––”
Perfervid language followed. Johnny Behan had been a cow-boy in his time, and the court had––in his unofficial capacity––a rather large vocabulary of his own. In the end certain facts began to outline themselves through the sulphuric haze: the district attorney had offered objections to the proffered bail.