Without an instant's hesitation, and before the man had a chance to retire, McGlynn's huge fist crashed through the glass and into his face.
The crowd had waited patiently; but now, with a brutal snarl, it surged forward. McGlynn, a pleasant smile on his face, swung slowly about.
"Keep your line, boys! Keep your line!" he boomed. "There's no trouble! It's only a little Englishman who don't know our ways yet."
Inside the building the postal force, white and scared yet over the menacing growl of the beast they had so nearly roused, hastened to resume their tasks. I heard later that the last man in line reached the window only at three o'clock in the morning. Also that next day McGlynn was summoned by Geary, then postmaster, to account for his share in the row; and that in the end Geary apologized and was graciously forgiven by McGlynn! I can well believe it.
We found Yank and Talbot still at the edge of the hotel veranda.
"Look here, Tal!" said Johnny at once. "How are you going to finish all this business you've scared up, and get off to the mines within a reasonable time? We ought to start pretty soon."
"Mines?" echoed Talbot, "I'm not going to the mines! I wouldn't leave all this for a million mines. No: Yank and I have been talking it over. You boys will have to attend to the mining end of this business. I'll pay Frank's share and take a quarter of the profits, and Frank can pay me in addition half his profits. In return for the work I don't do, I'll put aside two hundred and twenty dollars and use it in my business here, and all of us will share in the profits I make from that amount. How does that strike you?"
"I don't like to lose you out of this," said Johnny disappointedly.
"And I hate to lose the adventure, boys," agreed Talbot earnestly. "But, honestly, I can't leave this place now even if I want to; and I certainly don't want to."
I turned in that night with the feeling that I had passed a very interesting day.
Two days later Yank, Johnny, and I embarked aboard a small bluff-bowed sailboat, waved our farewells to Talbot standing on the shore, and laid our course to cross the blue bay behind an island called Alcatraz. Our boatman was a short, swarthy man, with curly hair and gold rings in his ears. He handled his boat well, but spoke not at all. After a dozen attempts to get something more than monosyllables out of him, we gave it up, and settled ourselves to the solid enjoyment of a new adventure.