"
"Yes!" says Colonel Tom, as near excited as
he ever got.
"Yes," says Armstrong, "nobody else. We saw
each other in the mirror behind the bar. I don't
know whether you ever noticed it or not, Tom, but
McMakin's eyes had a way of looking almost like
cross-eyes when he was startled or excited. They
were a good deal too near together at any time.
He gave me such a look when our eyes met in the
mirror that, for an instant, I thought that he in-
tended to do me some mischief--shoot me, you
know, for taking his bride-to-be away from him,
or some fool thing like that. But as we turned
toward each other I saw he had no intention of
that sort."
"Hadn't he?" says Colonel Tom, mighty in-
terested.
"No," says the doctor, looking at Colonel Tom
very puzzled, "did you think he had?"
"Yes, I did," says the colonel, right thoughtful.
"On the contrary," says Armstrong, "we had a
drink together. And he congratulated me. Made
me quite a little speech, in fact; one of the flowery
kind, you know, Tom, and said that he bore me no
rancour, and all that."
"The deuce he did!" says Colonel Tom, very low,
like he was talking to himself. "And then what?"
"Then," says the doctor, "then--let me see--
it's all a long time ago, you know, and McMakin's
part in the whole thing isn't really important.
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