“I did—a walking stick, which I had procured in Connecticut. It was covered with strange carvings and he mistook them for hieroglyphics, and gave me ten dollars for the thing.”
“I don't see how you could have the nerve to do such things, Mr. Montgomery.”
“Well, a man can do lots of things when he is driven to do them. I admit the deals were rather barefaced, but, as I said before, I had to do something. Some day, when I am rich, I'll return the money to the old fellow,” added the impostor.
He left the hotel that morning, and it may be said here that Joe did not meet him again for several years.
Christmas came and went at the hotel, and our hero received several presents from his friends, including a pair of gloves from Ned Talmadge and a five-dollar gold piece from Felix Gussing. Some of the regular boarders at the hotel also remembered him.
“And how do you like married life?” asked Joe, of Felix Gussing.
“We are getting along very nicely,” said the dude.
“Have you told your wife about the duel yet?”
“No,—and I don't think I shall,” added Felix Gussing. “You see she—er—she thinks me a very brave man and—”
“And you don't want her to change her opinion,” finished Joe, with a smile!