teachers and preachers mixed the matter up in our minds, an' got us all
tangle-footed, we know they're dar, an' you'll know what we mean. Now,
Lord, Billy's jest the boy--he's a hard case, so you can't find no
better stuff to work on--he's in a bad fix, thet we can't do nuthin'
fur, so it's jest yer chance. He ain't exactly the chap to make an A
Number One Angel ef, but he ain't the man to forget a friend, so he'll
be a handy feller to hev aroun'."

"Feel any better, Billy?" said Mose, stopping the prayer for a moment.

"A little," said Billy, feebly; "but you want to tell the whole yarn.
I'm sorry for all the wrong I've done."

"He's sorry for all his deviltry, Lord--"

"An' I ain't got nothin' agin the Judge," continued the sufferer.

"An' he don't bear no malice agin the Judge, which he shouldn't, seein'
he generally gin as good as he took. An' the long an' short of it, Lord,
is jest this--he's a dyin', an' he wants a chance to die with his mind
easy, an' nobody else can make it so, so we leave the whole job in your
hands, only puttin' in, fur Billy's comfort, thet we recollect hearing
how yer forgiv' a dyin' thief, an' thet it ain't likely yer a-goin' to
be harder on a chap thet's alwas paid fur what he got. Thet's the whole
story. Amen."

Billy's hand, rapidly growing cold, reached for that of Mose, and he
said, with considerable effort:

"Mose, yer came in ez handy as a nugget in a gone-up claim. God bless