Page:The gold brick (1910).djvu/174

 and notaries public on every step, five men clambered. They were grinning when they entered the room, grinning and standing about awkwardly, all save Hank Defrees, who was solemn and imponderable, chewing his tobacco as gravely as if he were making an appearance in court.

"Well," said George, standing in the middle of the floor, "anything happened?"

The men all looked at one another, hesitating to speak, but finally Scotty Gordon said:

"Happened! Well, I guess yes."

"What?" queried George.

"Well," he began, "now I done it, and last night old Bill Williams hunted me up in Jake Fogarty's saloon, and, well, he offered me fifty dollars to use if I wanted it."

"Say," Jerry Sullivan broke in—"Captain Bishop offered me seventy-five."

"And didn't you take it?"

"Why, no," said Jerry.

"What did you tell him?"

The lad's eyes twinkled.

"I told him," he answered slowly, "that it wouldn't be a drop in the bucket."