Snags reached down into the depths of a huge pocket, and drew out several handfuls of eagles and half eagles. He threw them down on the table, and the eyes of both the men sparkled.
The face of Roake expressed a greedy joy, but he said in an impatient tone:
“Well, what next? What did you do then? How did you get the gold?”
“I was going to say,” resumed Snags, “that just as I was feasting my optics on the shiners, the old man noticed my shadow, and looked up. He saw me standing there, and I think you’ll own it was rather a ticklish place. I hadn’t but one thing to do. You know yourself that I ain’t very fond of it, and confound it, it wasn’t my fault—it couldn’t be helped—I had to stick him——”
“You fool, you! Did you——”
“Yes, needn’t say the word, I did it, but upon my word I didn’t intend to let the life out of him. I onlymeant to quiet him for a few moments, while I got the booty.”
Snags hesitated as if at a loss how to proceed further. He glanced furtively at his companion, and evidently feared his displeasure. But the other only said:
“Well, what then? You got the booty, that’s one good thing. Did you get anything else?”
“No, and I’ll tell you why. The minute I run it into him, I heard a carriage coming along the road, and so I grabbed the gold and jumped out of the window. I hid in the bushes, and presently a young cuss come stealing into the yard, looking about as if he thought things wasn’t all right. I watched him, and he went into the house, right where the old man was leaning his head on the table, and the blood on the floor by his side. He seemed mighty scared at the looks of things, and took from the old man’s hand a scrap of paper he was clutching even when dead. I crept close up to the window, so as to see well, when the young chap come out. I held up this joker,” and Snags drew the long knife from his breast and laid it on the table, “and told him to wait a minute, I wanted to see him. I told him he must give up that paper he had taken from the colonel’s hand, but he vowed he wouldn’t. He called the old man his uncle, and asked me what I killed him for.
“But I couldn’t stop to waste no words with him, and so we got into a tussle. By gum! he was a wiry chap, if he was little; and he got away from me, too.He ran into the road, jumped into his buggy, and drove like mad into the town. But I had Bill all saddled, under the trees, and I got on him as quick as I could, and went after him. Thunder! how he did go! But I caught him just as he was going up toward the livery-stable, and had to knock him in the head; for it wouldn’t do, you know, to raise a muss, and make a noise right in the village.