THE PICTURE GIRL
"Let your light so shine——" At this cue the much-converted Ikey passed Gumboot Annie's frying-pan about among the men. Instead of organ-voluntary, or tenor solo, such as obtains during the offertory in conventional places of worship, the Bully, at his own request, rose to make a few appropriate remarks. "I ain't convarted," he frankly announced. "Heaven ain't in it with a hot old hell of a whoop-up time in this here life, d'ye see? Even if ye hang fer it! But say, parson, you're all right. You're a sure square proposition! Boys, the collection goes, d'ye see?"
"You betcherlife!" with cordial emphasis acquiesced the boys, even as the orthodox respond Amen, while pouring gold-dust from their pokes into the frying-pan.
"Oh, I don't despair of you, Nicholas! I shall yet see you a pillar of the church!" The minister now was mingling with his congregation, shaking hands, hearty if not invariably spotless, right and left. "Thank you, lads, thank you! This will go toward the maintenance of a hospital, where you shall be cared for when disabled by accident, or laid up with a er—touch of—ahem!—scurvy."
"Booze," corrected Bully Nick, scorning the well-meant euphemism.
After a second, informal benediction from Maclane, Barney, considering that the execution of justice temporal had been waived quite long enough in favor of things pertaining to the soul, tapped Nick on the shoulder with cheerful authority. "Now, me man, put your best fut forward and step prattily to jail! The rest av yez"—he looked round on the group with impartial invitation—"can accompany us on giniral lack av principles!"
"Oh, but say—the stage is a-comin' in," remonstrated Bill, as the tooting of a distant horn echoed musically among the mountain passes. "There's like to be ladies aboard her. Can't we wait for to look upon the ladies?"
The suggestion obviously was popular, even to the extent of suggesting mutiny if not complied with, and Barney himself had some difficulty in delaying his consent in order to add value to it before permitting his mug to relax into a grin. "As a man in line av promotion to be nominated an officer and a gintleman, 'tis no less than me duty."
"Boys, boys!" Mops, who had been reconnoitering, ran back, breathless and excited. "There's gals aboard!"
"The hell thar is!" exclaimed the boys, delighted, and meaning no disrespect.