Volume 2 - ElectricCanadian.com

THE ROMANCE OF BANKING 303the name of the faction to which they belonged, and at oncetold them that they should not execute him, because they werehis friends. To prove it he embraced the leader with trueLatin effusiveness and gave him a peso. The soldier was soflattered, that for the time being he abandoned his post andescorted Muirhead out of the danger zone, but even whenthey parted Muirhead felt a lurking suspicion that anotherrevulsion of feeling might prompt his quondam friend to shoothim in the back. He learned later that two men had beenshot in the same block, after making the error of namingthe opposite faction when challenged. Later in the evening,at the Paseo Club, he met a friend who bought him a drink,which the friend says was badly needed. Over their glassesthe story was told, and the friend remarked, "Well, it tooka Scotchman to save his life for fifty cents."The next evening Muirhead had another hair-raisingexperience. The danger of stray bullets, which was greatest inthe daylight, having subsided, he set forth to visit the managerof the Bank of Montreal. Stopped by a group of men inplain clothes, he continued on his way and did not answertheir "Qui en vive." In a moment a bullet whizzed passedhim, and like the negro in the legend, he heard it again when hepassed it. Just as he reached his destination another bulletmissed him. A few minutes later the gang had a quarrelamong themselves and two were killed. After that experiencehe kept closely to the house for a week, until one night threeshells struck the roadway in front of his abode and he decidedto move out of the danger zone. One day in his new quartershe saw a lone man kill or wound ten of a posse of eighteenmounted police who were pursuing him.Other members of the staff also had their unpleasantmoments. Mr. Rossire, who lived in the building of theYoung Men's Christian Association near the citadel, losteverything he had with the exception of the clothes onhis back, for the soldiers completely looted the premises.Another officer, Mr. Bonilla, was confined to an apartment