Bud nodded gloomily. He had been watching Butch Cassidy and wishing hotly that he had a gun. It began to look as though Butch was going to get away with something--ride off scot-free and leave a smirch on the good name of the Meadowlark that, in the minds of the Smoky Ford bank's officers, would be harder to erase than Macbeth's haunting blood stain. Butch glanced at the two, his light eyes narrowing under frowning brows. It was evident that Butch also had something on his mind. Beside him Kid Kern leaned against the wall, careless on the surface, but never missing a look or a movement anywhere, and paying especial attention to Butch and Bud. "Gosh!" Gelle ejaculated under his breath. "Pore old Snowball's goin' to be pumped dry now--and he don't know a darned thing about nothin'." "Character witness, maybe," Bud made ironical reply. "It'll be a pippin," Gelle predicted. "Snowball don't know nothin' good about that old coot." Sam rolled his eyes in mental anguish, probably imagining that he himself was being accused of something. He stuttered and didn't know anything he was expected to know. He was palpably terrified, and whenever he caught Palmer's eyes upon him he shrank pitiably in his chair. And then, mercifully, his wild eyes strayed to Gelle's face and clung there as to his savior. He blinked, swallowed twice, gripped the chair arms and began to talk--to his beloved "Mist' Meddalahk", who had given him human sympathy and a dollar. A question or two he answered intelligibly. Then, abruptly, his tongue-tied fear dropped from him. "Yessuh, yessuh, Ah doan' know nuthin' 'bout no doin's mah boss he been up to. Boss, he want his dinnah awn time--dass all ole Sam consuhmed about. "But one mawnin', 'long about noon, heah come dem Meddalahk boys ridin' and shootin'. Yessuh, Ah 'member what tooken place awn dat day. Considubble, suh, happens right 'long 'bout dat same time. Mist' Meddalahk, he come ridin' along, aftuh boss he go awn to town. Yessuh, boys dey calls 'im Jelly, but Ah doan' see nothin' respeckful 'bout names lak dat. Ah calls 'im Mist' Meddalahk, an' we talks along an' talks along, 'bout one thing an' anuthah--yessuh. "Mist' Jedge, suh, Ah got somethin' awn mah min' don' consuhn yo'all. Ah been hearin' little sum'fin now an' ag'in 'bout some money what come up missin', and 'pears lak some gemmen, dey 'clined to think mah frien', Mist' Meddalahk ovah theah, he done mebby _took_ dat money. Ah doan' rightly know jes' how dat come about, Mist' Jedge, suh, but Ah'd lak fo' to tell yo'all--" "I object, your honor, on the ground that the witness is taking up valuable time to no purpose," cried Palmer's counsel, springing to his feet. "Your honor, this witness is incompetent--" "This witness is trying to tell what he knows about some missing money," the judge rebuked. "Objection overruled. Go on, Sam. Tell us all about it. Plenty of time, so long as we get the truth."