“Well, Doc, I don’t s’pose it’s ness’ary fer me ter tell y’u that Jim’s my best friend. He’s the best I ever hed, since—well, since I come from the States. I’ve got good reasons fer likin’ him, ez you’ll obsarve.
“I fust met Jim at Angel’s Camp, about three years ago. I was prospectin’ round in Calaveras county, an’ used ter make my headquarters at Angel’s.
“I used ter booze a lot in them days—mor’n I do now, Doc. I guess my hide was stretchier then, an’ used ter hold more. I was allus a leetle bit excitable when I was drunk, an’ everlastin’ly gittin’ inter trouble. That’s how I fell in with Jim.
“I happened to be raisin’ partickler h—l round town one night, an’ drifted inter Ned Griffiths place. I’d been thar lots uv times, an’ ez everybody in Angel’s knowed me, an’ I was purty poplar, I’d never hed no trouble, till this night I’m tellin’ y’u about.
“It jest happened that a crowd uv fellers hed come down from Murphy’s camp ter have a little fun on ther own account, an’ it was jes’ my d—d luck ter run agin the gang ’bout the time they was beginnin’ ter feel ther oats purty lively, an’ of course, I hed ter git into a muss with ’em.
“Ez I didn’t hev no friends in the place at the time, an’ folks don’t mix in other fellers’ rows much in the diggin’s, I was buckin’ agin a dead tough game. Ez luck’d hev it, I happened ter git mixed up with the toughest cuss in the crowd—Three Fingered Jack, a feller what’ll ornyment a tree yit, y’u see if he don’t![B]
[B] And ornament the gallows tree he did, several years later. Author.
“I got my gun out, all right, but the d—d thing was outer fix, an’ if it hadn’t been, I was too bilin’ drunk ter hit a cow at three paces.
“Well, Jack jest played with me with his knife, kinder carvin’ me up on the installment plan, ye know. He’d socked a few purty good sized holes inter my ole carkiss, an’ was gittin’ ready ter finish up the job in good shape, when Jim come in an’ took a han’ in the game with his own little bowie.
“I was too full er booze ter ’preciate the show, but they do say ez how Jim did a purty neat job. Jack got well arter a while, but he didn’t act very sosherble with the folks at Angel’s enny more.”