The
prodigal had brushed and washed and combed himself to a more decent
figure, but he was unsteady in the saddle, and he seemed to be deep in
the contemplation of some vexing problem. Coltrane left him in his
mood, relying upon the influence of changed surroundings to restore
his equilibrium.
Once Goree was seized with a shaking fit, and almost came to a
collapse. He had to dismount and rest at the side of the road. The
colonel, foreseeing such a condition, had provided a small flask of
whisky for the journey but when it was offered to him Goree refused it
almost with violence, declaring he would never touch it again. By and
by he was recovered, and went quietly enough for a mile or two. Then
he pulled up his horse suddenly, and said:
"I lost two hundred dollars last night, playing poker. Now, where did
I get that money?"
"Take it easy, Yancey. The mountain air will soon clear it up. We'll
go fishing, first thing, at the Pinnacle Falls. The trout are jumping
there like bullfrogs. We'll take Stella and Lucy along, and have a
picnic on Eagle Rock. Have you forgotten how a hickory-cured-ham
sandwich tastes, Yancey, to a hungry fisherman?"
Evidently the colonel did not believe the story of his lost wealth; so
Goree retired again into brooding silence.
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