A REMINISCENCE OF THE ROCKIES 



fore an attempt had been made one night to 

 rob the bank at Meeker. Before the robbers 

 could accomplish their purpose, the citizens 

 discovered what was taking place and quietly 

 surrounded the building. When the men 

 came out they were shot down and killed; 

 the ends of justice were thereby satisfied with- 

 out the proverbial law's delay. The cowboy 

 then told me of another bank, in which he 

 was a depositor, which had been robbed not 

 long before by one of its officers, who had 

 gotten off with a considerable sum. I asked 

 him what the liabilities were. The word stag- 

 gered him. Although I recognized that he 

 was a man of resources, yet I felt sure that I 

 had "stumped him," and felt sorry for it. He 

 stared vacantly at the fire a few moments and 

 slowly shifted a quid from one side of his 

 mouth to the other and sent a long, yellow 

 stream into the center of the blaze, which I 

 thought for a moment would extinguish it; 

 at length he replied in a leisurely way: "Wai, 

 29 



