He had struck the right note, for the British Columbian is a somewhat chivalrous person, and there was silence, through which the jingle of a piano in the saloon broke irritatingly, until Lee stood up.
“I’m a sinful man like the rest of you,” he began in the more formal English and high-pitched inflection I knew so well, though the effect was diminished because some one broke in with assumed wonder, “You don’t say?”
“I’ve the same passions in me,” continued the orator, unheeding, “and once I came near murder, while for six long years I was a sodden slave to this awful drink.”
“Only awful when it’s bad!” another voice said; and there was a cry, “He’s getting ahead nicely! ’Rah for the next President! Give him a show!”
“Sodden mind and body!” repeated Lee; “a-groveling on hands and knees in the pit of iniquity, and when I came out it left me what you see—a broken man who, if he’d saved his soul, was too late to save his body. That’s what you’ll remember—no one can wallow without paying for it, and you’re strong men who were meant for better. It’s 142 all in the choice you make—health, happiness, prosperity—a jump down a precipice into eternity, or dying half-rotten in a Vancouver hospital.”
“The old thing, but he’s taking hold,” said Harry when the speaker paused a moment, and then a glow of light beat out while a tall figure stood in the doorway of the saloon. The man’s face was scornful beneath the costly wide-brimmed hat; he wore a spotless white shirt instead of a blue one, while—and this was an unusual sight—a heavy revolver was strapped about his waist, and neatly polished boots reached to his knees. This I knew was Hemlock Jim, of evil repute, who had set up a gaming table, and was supposed to have purchased an interest in the Magnolia.
“Won’t you come in, boys, instead of fooling ’round outside there in the cold?” he asked derisively. “You can have as much water as you like, and we won’t charge you nothin’ for the room.”
I wondered what Johnston, who conferred with his companions, would do.
“I think we will,” said the chairman. “Much obliged to you. File in quietly, boys, and those who can’t find room will sit on the veranda.”
Harry chuckled. “This is distinctly a new line for our partner,” he commented, “and the whole trio have pluck enough. I fancy if the other side try any tricks they’ll find their match in Johnston.”