We all touched our hats to Mr. Wallace and went out of his private office, and I drew a long breath of relief. There had been no shooting done, and I was glad of it. I was hurrying ahead to get to Mr. Chisholm’s side, to ask him if that order in regard to “popping him over”—that is to say, Henderson—was still in force, when I saw Frank seize Bob by the arm and pull him back. I stayed back with him, for I wanted to see how the thing was coming out. I fell in with Tom Mason right ahead of Bob and Elam, and Lem and Frank brought up the rear. This was the way in which we marched down, and Mr. Chisholm couldn’t raise any objections to it. After we had got fairly under way, I heard Frank say to Bob, in a scarcely audible whisper:
“Say, you wouldn’t mind lending Lem and me a twenty, would you?”
“I should be glad to, but the bag is sealed up,” replied Bob.
“Sh! don’t let Mr. Chisholm know it. You couldn’t get the seal off’n the bag, could you? Lem and me is mighty thirsty.”
Bob put his hand into his pocket, and I could hardly keep from laughing outright when I saw the contortions his face went through in order to get the seal off the bag. He worked as a boy never worked before, and at last I saw, by the expression on his countenance, that he had got the bag open. We were pretty near to the hotel when this happened. I heard the chinking of the pieces as Bob drew his hand out and placed two twenty dollars in Frank’s extended palm.
“Boys, I will give you that to pay you for sticking by me,” said he. “Now, be careful, and don’t take too much.”
“You’re right; we’ll stick by you,” said Frank. “If you ever get in a scrape like this again, send us word. We’ll not take too much. We are afraid of Mr. Chisholm.”
They had got the money, and the next thing was to get the whiskey. Mr. Chisholm thought he was smart, and, no doubt, he was in some things; but he had to deal with men who were as smart as he was. When we got back to the hotel, Frank and Lem threw themselves into the chairs they had occupied before, to keep a lookout for Henderson; but Mr. Chisholm spoke a word or two to them, and they got up and went into the house.
“Now, landlord, catch up,” said Mr. Chisholm. “Can you get us an early supper? We want to be away from here in an hour.”
The landlord was all attention. He was in and out of the bar a good many times, but Lem and Frank never went near it. They had a good deal of time to spend in looking at the pictures; I saw a half a dozen men talking to them, and finally they came back to where we were, and sat down. I winked at Lem, and he winked back at me, and so I knew he had got it; but how in the world he got it was a mystery to me. I did not see him put anything into his pocket; but, after we had eaten supper and were about an hour on our journey homeward, I saw the effects of it very perceptibly. It did not make Lem and Frank loud and boisterous, as they generally were when they were full, but “funny”—all except when Mr. Chisholm came back and scowled at them, and then they were as sober as judges. The next day, however, they were all right; but when Bob saw Frank stoop down and fill his hat four times at a stream he was passing, and drink it empty each time, he said: