"Upon my word," exclaimed the judge, "you are not the sort of man I had supposed from what I had heard of you. I thought that you must be a monster, but I find that you are very much of a gentleman."
This compliment was greeted by a round of applause from the spectators, all of whom had been won by Ben's ready wit and intelligent bearing.
"I think you will find, sir," rejoined Ben, "that the monsters are those who have pressed these charges against me."
"Well, perhaps that is so," said the judge. "However, it is my duty to hold you, and I will therefore put you under two hundred dollars bonds."
"That is certainly kind," observed Ben. "I expected that you would make it fifteen hundred!"
"The next time you appear before me I shall."
"But I shall never appear here again!" rejoined Ben. And he never did.
Attempt to Rob Ben--How he Became a Minister and Married a Couple--A Jolly Wedding--French Kate Jealous.
Continuing to recount our hero's adventures while in Babylon, we shall find that they partook both of a tragic and comical character. Illustrative of the former, the following may be taken:
Ben was returning to his house on a certain night, after a visit to a neighboring town. He was obliged to make his way through the mountain passes, which at best were dangerous places in those days. The night was densely dark. Black clouds rolled themselves up in the sky, obscuring the light of the moon and stars. The wind blew in angry gusts, making solemn music in the branches of the over-arching trees. It was such a night as best befits deeds of violence and crime.
Alone through the darkness Ben made his way. He had reached a point not far distant from his house, but in one of the most secluded spots in the mountains, when suddenly three men, masked, and with revolvers in their hands, rose up in his path.
To appreciate Ben's position, it must be remembered that he was in a country where murder was the common recreation of a large number of the inhabitants. More than this, he carried with him wherever he went large sums of money, amounting often to three or four thousand dollars. This fact was well known to the desperate classes who infested the region, and tended to make Hogan an especially tempting subject for their villainies.