; so rather than put a woman in jail
for contempt of court, the court dismissed the proceedings against Handy
and he was not allowed to be even a martyr. One morning about a year and
a half after Handy's defeat, when Hedrick opened his office door, he
found Handy there with his fingers clutching the chair arms and his eyes
fixed on the floor. The man was breathing audibly, and seemed to be
struggling with a great passion. Hedrick and Handy had not spoken since
they came through the panels of the door together, but Hedrick went to
the miserable creature, touched him gently on the shoulder, and motioned
him into the private office. There, with his eyes still on the floor,
Handy told Hedrick that the end of the rope had been reached.

"I had to come down without any breakfast this
morning--because--they--they ain't anything in the house for her to fix.
And there ain't any show for dinner. Next week, Red Martin has promised
me some money he's goin' to get from Jim Huddleson; but they ain't a
soul in town but you I can come to now"; and Handy raised his eyes from
the floor in canine self-pity as he whined--"and she's making life a
hell for me!" When Hedrick opened his desk and got out his check-book,
he smiled as he fancied he could detect about Handy's body the faint
resemblance of a wagging tail. He made the check for fifty dollars and
gave it to Handy saying, "Oh, well, Ab--we'll let bygones be bygones."

Handy snapped at it and in an instant was gone.

That afternoon Hedrick met Handy sailing down Main Street in his old
manner. His head was erect, his eyes were sparkling, his big, rough,
statesman's voice was bellowing abroad, and his thumbs were in the
armholes of his vest. He walked straight to Hedrick and led him by the
coat lapel into a dark stairway. There was an air of deep mystery about
Handy and when he put his arm on Hedrick to whisper in his ear,
Hedrick, smelling the statesman's breath heavy with whiskey and onions
and cloves and cardamon seeds and pungent gum, heard this:

"Say, Charley, I'm fooling 'em--I've got 'em all fooled. They think I'm
poor. They think I ain't got any money. But old Ab's too smart for them.
I've got lots of money--all I want--all anyone could want--wealth beyond
the dreams of avar--of av--avar--avar'ce, as John Ingalls used to say.
Just look at this!" And with that Handy pulled from his inside coat
pocket a roll of one and two-dollar bills, that seemed to Hedrick to
represent fifty