er. Well, I put a flea
in Ike's ear t'other day, an' night before last, Ike comes to me to
borry my pistol. You know that short, single-barrel shebang? Well, I
loant it to him on the express understandin' that he wasn't to shoot any
spring doves nor wild pea-fowls."

The men laughed, and then sat or stood silent, each occupied with his
own reflections, until Sam Hathaway returned. Whereupon, they moved on,
one of them singing, in a surprisingly sweet tenor, the ballad of "Nelly
Gray."

It was now dark, and ordinarily, Gabriel would have gone to supper. But,
instead of doing that, he went on toward town, and met Hotchkiss and
Boring on the outskirts. They were engaged in a close discussion when
Gabriel met them. It would have been a great deal better for him and his
friends if he had passed on without a word; but Gabriel was Gabriel, and
he was compelled to act according to Gabriel's nature. So, without
hesitation, he walked up to the two men.

"Is this Mr. Hotchkiss?" he inquired.

"That is my name," replied Hotchkiss in his smoothest tone.

"Are you going out to Butts's to-night?"

"Now, that is a queer question," remarked Hotchkiss, after a pause--"a
very queer question. What is your name?"

"Tolliver--Gabriel Tolliver."

"Gabriel Tolliver--h'm--yes. Well, Mr. Tolliver, why are you so desirous
of knowing whether I go to Butts's to-night?"

"Honestly," replied Gabriel, a little nettled at the man's airs, "I
don't want to know at all. I simply wanted to advise you not to go there
to-night."

"Oh, you wanted to _advise_ me not to go. Now, then, let's go a little
further into the matter. _Why_ do you want to advise me?" Hotchkiss was
a man who was not only ripe for a discussion at all times, and upon any
subject, but made it a point to emphasise all the most trifling details.
"Have you any special interest in my welfare?"

"I think not," replied Gabriel, bluntly. "I simply wanted to drop you a
hint. You can take it or not, just as you choose." With that, he turned
on his heel, and went home to supper, little dreaming that his kindness
of heart, and his sincere efforts to do a stranger a favour would
involve him in a tangled web of circumstances, from which he would find
it almost impossible to escape.

Gabriel heard Hotchkiss laugh, but he did not hear the remark that
followed.

"Why, even the children and the young men think I am a coward. They have
the idea that courage exists nowhere but among themselv