friendly. He had been, in his day, a prince of entertainers, of the rich
and poor alike; and the kick of the whiskey had roused up those genial
qualities which had made him the first citizen of Keno. He laughed and
told stories and cracked merry jests, yet never for a moment did he
forget his incognito nor attempt to violate Wiley's. They were gentlemen
there together in the heart of the desert, and as such each was safe
from intrusion. The rifle and cartridge belt, Wiley's pistol and the
sack of food, were fetched and placed in his hands; and then at the end
the Colonel produced the flask of whiskey which had been slightly
diluted with water.

"Now," he said, "we will drink a toast, my far-faring-knight of the
desert. Shall it be that first toast: 'The Ladies--God bless them!'
or----"

"No!" answered Wiley, and the Colonel silently laughed.

"Well said, my young friend," he replied, nodding wisely. "Even at your
age you have learned something of life. No, let it be the toast that
Socrates drank, and that rare company who sat at the Banquet. To Love!
they drank; but not to love of woman. To love of mankind--of Man! To
Friendship! In short, here's to you, my friend, and may you never regret
this night!"

They drank it in silence, and as Wiley sat thinking, the Colonel became
reminiscent.

"Ah, there was a company," he said, smiling mellowly, "such as the world
will never see again. Agatho and Socrates, Aristophanes and Alcibiades,
the picked men of ancient Athens; lying comfortably on their couches
with the food before them and inviting their souls with wine. They began
in the evening and in the morning it was Socrates who had them all under
the table. And yet, of all men, he was the most abstemious--he could
drink or let it alone. Alcibiades, the drunkard, gave witness that night
to the courage and hardihood of Socrates--how he had carried him and his
armor from the battlefield of Potidaea, and outfaced the enemy at
Delium; how he marched barefoot through the ice while the others, well
shod, froze; and endured famine without complaining; yet again, in the
feasts at the military table, he was the only person that appeared to
enjoy them. There was a man, my friend, such as the world has never
seen, the greatest philosopher of all time; but do you know what
philosophy he taught?"

"No, I don't," admitted Wiley, and the Colonel sighed as he poured out a
small libation.

"And yet," he said, "you are a man of parts,