“How do you know?”
“He took the bill from a great roll. The driver’s eyes stuck out of his head at the sight.”
“It’s a shame, then, that he puts himself in a condition to be robbed. Judging from his talk I should say he was from the West.”
“Singular we should run across so many persons from that quarter. And this isn’t Colorado day, either. There’s the sheriff, then Phœnix, who is wanted out in Denver, and finally this young chap.”
“Phœnix! yes, I know him,” utters the man in the corner, as if the name has caught his ear, deaf to all other sounds.
“Talk lower, Claude. Where do you put up?”
“Oh, I have a room,” carelessly.
“Won’t you stay over with me at the Sherman to-night?”
“Couldn’t think of it, my dear boy. Very fussy about my quarters; cranky bachelor, you know. Have to be just so.”
“Oh, I see! and a room in a hotel is a cheerless waste in comparison. I can see the cozy chair, the papers and magazines at hand, pipes on the tables, in fact, a comfortable den.”