e. As I ran rapidly towards
them, a few called out, "Look out--he's in there!" while others made
way to let me pass. With the impression of fire or robbery in my mind,
I entered precipitately, only to find Yuba Bill calmly leaning back in
an arm-chair with his feet on the back of another, a glass of whiskey
from my demijohn in one hand and a huge cigar in his mouth. Across his
lap lay a stumpy shotgun which I at once recognized as "the Left
Bower," whose usual place was at his feet on the box during his
journeys. He looked cool and collected, although there were one or two
splashes of printer's ink on his shirt and trousers, and from the
appearance of my lavatory and towel he had evidently been removing
similar stains from his hands. Putting his gun aside and grasping my
hand warmly without rising, he began with even more than his usual lazy
imperturbability:

"Well, how's Gilead lookin' to-day?"

It struck me as looking rather disturbed, but, as I was still too
bewildered to reply, he continued lazily:

"Ez you didn't hunt me up, I allowed you might hev got kinder petrified
and dried up down yer, and I reckoned to run down and rattle round a
bit and make things lively for ye. I've jist cleared out a newspaper
office over thar. They call it the 'Guardi-an,' though it didn't seem
to offer much pertection to them fellers ez was in it. In fact, it
wasn't ez much a fight ez it orter hev been. It was rather monotonous
for me."

"But what's the row, Bill? What has happened?" I asked excitedly.

"Nothin' to speak of, I tell ye," replied Yuba Bill reflectively. "I
jest meandered into that shop over there, and I sez, 'I want ter see
the man ez runs this yer mill o' literatoor an' progress.' Thar waz two
infants sittin' on high chairs havin' some innocent little game o'
pickin' pieces o' lead outer pill-boxes like, and as soon ez they seed
me one of 'em crawled under his desk and the other scooted outer the
back door. Bimeby the door opens again, and a fluffy coyote-lookin'
feller comes in and allows that HE is responsible for that yer paper.
When I saw the kind of animal he was, and that he hadn't any weppings,
I jist laid the Left Bower down on the floor. Then I sez, 'You allowed
in your paper that I oughter hev a little sevility knocked inter me,
and I'm here to hev it done. You ken begin it now.' With that I
reached for him, and we waltzed oncet or twicet around the room, and
then I put him up on the mante