Those who still remained showed in manner a marked relief, and a moment
or two later a man named Morris, whom I knew to be a gambler by
profession, called out lightly:

"The crowd and you'll drink with me, Sheriff, I hope? I want another
glass, and then we won't keep you up any longer, for you ought to have a
night's rest with to-morrow's work before you."

The Sheriff smiled assent. Every one moved towards the bar, and
conversation became general. Morris was the centre of the company, and
he directed the talk jokingly to the account in the "Tribune," making
fun, as it seemed to me, though I did not understand all his allusions,
of the editor's timidity and pretentiousness. Morris interested and
amused me even more than he amused the others; he talked like a man of
some intelligence and reading, and listening to him I grew light-hearted
and careless, perhaps more careless than usual, for my spirits had been
ice-bound in the earlier gloom of the evening.

"Fortunately our County and State authorities can be fully trusted,"
some one said.

"Mark that 'fortunately,' Sheriff," laughed Morris. "The editor was
afraid to mention you alone, so he hitched the State on with you to
lighten the load."

"Ay!" chimed in another of the gamblers, "and the 'aid and succour of
each and every citizen,' eh, Sheriff, as if you'd take the whole town
with you. I guess two or three'll be enough fer Williams."

This annoyed me. It appeared to me that Williams had addressed a