once knew; but he doesn't know I knows him, and he doesn't remember me.
And he comes and he sits opposite me, and I watches him. And he's very
airy, this Man, and very chipper, and he wipes his mouth with a white
hankercher, and he smiles, and he ketches my eye. And he sez, 'A glass
o' wine with you, Mr. Johnson'; and he fills his glass and I fills mine,
and we rises. And I heaves that wine, glass and all, right into his
damned grinnin' face. And he jumps for me,--for he is very game, this
Man, very game,--but some on 'em grabs him, and he sez, 'Who be you?'
And I sez, 'Skaggs! damn you, Skaggs! Look at me! Gimme back my wife and
child, gimme back the money you stole, gimme back the good name you
took away, gimme back the health you ruined, gimme back the last twelve
years! Give 'em to me, damn you, quick, before I cuts your heart out!'
And naterally, Tommy, he can't do it. And so I cuts his heart out, my
boy; I cuts his heart out."

The purely animal fury of his eye suddenly changed again to cunning.
"You think they hangs me for it, Tommy, but they don't. Not much, Tommy.
I goes to the biggest lawyer there, and I says to him, 'Salviated by
merkery,--you hear me,--salviated by merkery.' And he winks at me,
and he goes to the judge, and he sez, 'This yer unfortnet man isn't
responsible,--he's been salviated by merkery.' And he brings witnesses;
you comes, Tommy, and you sez ez how you've seen me took bad afore; and
the doctor, he comes, and he sez as how he's seen me frightful; and the
jury, without leavin' their seats, brings in a verdict o' justifiable
insanity,--salviated by merkery."

In the excitement of his climax he had risen to his feet, but would have
fallen had not Tommy caught him and led him into the open air. In
this sharper light there was an odd change visible in his yellow-white
face,--a change which caused Tommy to hurriedly support him, half