George sent word for me to be at the bank the next morning. Barnaby and I sat in the restaurant once we got up. I was feeling better than I had been, and I watched Barnaby eat enough for two. He ate his breakfast and then, I gave him mine. He never came up for air.

"Mr. Callahan is in a meeting. He won't be long," the clerk said.

There was a rather rugged looking gentlemen already sitting in one of the chairs waiting. I noticed him because he had the best posture I'd ever seen. He wasn't six foot, but he looked taller, and his square shoulders made him look bigger tha he was.

I watched the man stand and walk over to stop in front of me.

"John Tanner, I presume," he said.

"You know this how?" I asked.

"You were described to me. I'm Phillip Dubois, at your service. I understand we are to go west together," he said, extending his hand.

"Yes. I was wondering what such a sturdy looking fellow was doing sitting in a bank."

"Here to meet you. George is with one of his vice presidents. He won't be long. I must confess I didn't know you on site. He did describe you to me though."

"The sickliest looking guy," I offered him my description.

"I confess. I cheated. He said you'd be with a red headed boy. I'm Phillip Dubois. Here to be inspected, I believe."

I laughed.

I liked this guy. We would go west together.

George picked this time to step out of his office.

"John, come on up. Phillip."

I was fine. I'd had rest. I'd eaten a little and mostly watched Barnaby packing it away. It was surprisingly good to see him eat.

"You've met, I see," George said.

"Yes," I said.

"We have," Phillip said. "I've got to be going to make arrangements for a larger wagon. I want to give John plenty of room to be comfortable. He'll have a bed. If I passed my inspection, can I go get a suitable wagon?" he asked.

"By all means," I said, when George looked at me.

"Pleasure meeting you," Phillip said with a slight bow.

He disappeared down the stairs as I watched him go.

"He's… he's…."

"Impressive is the word I use," George said.

"Yes, he is," I agreed.

"And the papers for me to have access to your funds have been prepared. They're a little complicated. I'll explain them to you. You can take them back to the hotel and look them over. I can recommend lawyers who will offer you a legal read on what we're doing. Once you sign, I'll be ready to get you funds in any city you please. It doesn't need to be a 1st National branch. Although, where there is a 1st National Bank branch, it would speed things up to communicate through them."

"I run out of gas in the afternoon. I'll read them and get back to you tomorrow on it."

"John, you'll be leaving Friday. We need to get this done. Barnaby, can I get you to bring me the papers after John's done with them and signs them?"

"Yes, Sir. I'll bring them right to you once he tells me to."

"There you go. We can get this wrapped up. I have a few other things I'd like to go over with you, and this is something we can do over dinner. That way you won't be expending any energy running back and forth. You do eat, don't you?"

"He doesn't eat much. I eat it for him," Barnaby said.

"I somehow don't think that's going to help him keep up his strength," George said.

"No, Sir," Barnaby said with a smile. "It is keeping my strength up though."

"I'm sure," George said as I read papers he handed to me.

"I'm fine. Tell me where we'll meet and I'll be there," I said.

"It's a place across from your hotel. You'll bring Barnaby. He can see to any arrangements we make tomorrow night."

It was then the coughing started. It was almost predictable that by noon I'd have my first fit. This time George was ready for me, pouring me a glass of water from a pitcher on his sideboard. My hand shook and Barnaby took the glass while my coughing continued

"Let me take the glass, Barnaby," George said. "Go across the street with this dollar. Give it to the girl behind the counter. Tell her you want two large lemonades. One is for John and one for you. Tell her it is for banker George. She'll take care of you."

Barnaby took the dollar bill and flew down the stairs. George took to pounding on my back and letting me drink when the coughing stopped. I managed to get a few sips to go down. I thought about a cup of tea.

Barnaby was just then hurrying across the bottom floor and up the stairs with two glasses of lemonade dripping over both of his hands as he entered the office.

George took a glass right away, and he helped me hold it steady while I got some in my mouth. It was tart and sweet and smooth. It went down surprisingly easy and the coughing subsided once I drank.

"That was wonderful. You practice medicine part time, George?"

"No, but it is a wonderful drink. I hoped it might help. Barnaby, that's your lemonade. You can drink it. Oh, your hands are wet."

George took a hand towel from the sideboard and handed it to Barnaby so he could wipe his wet hands.

"She said, 'On the house,'" Barnaby said.

He handed the dollar bill back to George.

"You're going to make sure you get the papers to me once John has read and signed them?" George asked.

"Yes, Sir," Barnaby said.

"This should cover your services," handing him back the bill.

Georgee looked impressed that Barnaby not only remembered the message, but he gave him the money. He could have just kept the dollar and George would have been none the wiser, but Barnaby was an honest man.

I was impressed too. The boy had nothing but the clothes on his back.

"You get John to his hotel where he can rest. Make sure he gets some tea and that he has plenty of laudanum, Barnaby."

"Yes, Sir," he said.

There was more paper than I expected. Barnaby took them from me and carried them back to the hotel. I got some tea and started reading. It was fairly cut and dried. I'd been signing documents like these for years, and I thought I understood most of it. Mainly George would act on my behalf in investing and in seeing I got funds when my needs required him to send money to me in whatever city I might be in.

I thought about buying a Virginia style horse farm out west, if I lived long enough to get there. I needed a plan besides going to get fresh air. I always admired horse farms. I liked horses. I didn't want to get into anything that required a lot of labor.

I wasn't sure how well I would be if I lived to finish the trip. If I lived to finish the trip.

It was the next evening when we met at Meridian across from the Grand. It was fancy and the kind of place a banker would take his best customers. It was a high dollar restaurant that looked it. The service was good and the food was better.

I ate some steak, most of my potato. I even had a second beer, while watching Barnaby finish my steak after finishing his steak. The boy had an appetite.

"Has a healthy appetite, doesn't he?" George asked, seeming amazed at how the skinny boy packed it away.

"Don't have a dog. I hate wasting food," I said. "I would keep him around just for that purpose if he wasn't so helpful. He follows directions to a T. Couldn't have gotten through the week without him."

"He's been quite helpful," George agreed. "They have an ice cream bonanza with nuts, fruit, and the works. Would you be interested in a thing like that, Barnaby?" George asked.

"Yes, Sir," Barnaby said. "Could I get a beer?"

"A beer?" George questioned.

"He's drinking beer," Barnaby pointed out. "I'd like one."

"Barnaby, I'm thirty years old. When your thirty, you can have beer. For the time being, you'll have another milk

"Yes, Sir. I knew the answer. Thought I'd give it a try," he said with the clear mind of a fourteen-year-old.

George laughed and shook his head.

The large bowl of ice cream looked like they put everything in it they wanted to get rid of in the kitchen. It didn't last long.

"I want to take you for supper tomorrow evening, George. You've been feeding me and Barnaby, and it's my turn," I said.

"Won't turn down an offer like that. Few free meals for a banker in this town, I want to tell you, John."

"It will be a working dinner. I have one more thing I want you to handle for me. You pick the place and it's on me."

"Working for my supper. Not the first time I did that," he said.

The paperwork was done. My business with George was almost done. I'd leave with Phillip in two days. I wasn't sure how I felt about it. I was loaded with laudanum and I had my carpetbag packed, but going west was a big proposition. I wasn't sure I was up to it.

I was traveling light, and there wouldn't be much to be disposed of when they got around to disposing of me. I was taking a trip into the unknown. I didn't know where I'd end up.

I took Barnaby out for a nice lunch, because he wasn't going to dinner with us that night. I kept feeding him until he didn't eat anymore. I made sure they'd deliver a dinner to the room while I met with George in one of the restaurants he liked best.

When I arrived and gave them George's name, I was escorted to a side room. It had no door on it, but it was private. You could have a talk and not be overheard, not that I cared who heard anything I said.

George was in his shirt sleeves and slacks for the first time. He looked fresh and relaxed. He stood when I stepped in. He shook my hand while holding my arm with his other hand.

His smile was pleasant. George looked younger than me, but he wasn't sick, and he looked fit. As we ate, he seemed happy, made small talk, and inquired about how I was feeling.

"No Barnaby tonight. When he's around, I feel like I should keep an eye on my food. The boy can eat."

"He was living off of potatoes when I found him," I said.

"Potatoes?" George said with alarm. "Potatoes."

"Came over from Ireland. His people were starving. Some kind of famine. They seem to have those regularly over there."

"My god, no wonder he eats everything in sight."

"It's Barnaby I want to talk to you about. I want to take care of him, George."

"My word, John, you've cleaned him up, dressed him, what more can you do?"

"I want to see he's fed. I don't want him going hungry after I leave. I don't want to leave him, but this trip is going to end up with me dead. I can't die and leave him stranded in an unfamiliar place. I won't do that to him. I want him to have enough money to be sure he eats good food. I want him to have a chance to grow up without going hungry."

"John, I pass a dozen of those boys on my way to work, and I pass another dozen on my way home. I'd like to help them all, but the problem is too big. There's no way to take care of all of them."

George knew what he was talking about, and I respected it. He knew way more about the city than I did,

"None of those other boys kept me from falling on my face in the street. None of those other boys got me safely to where I was going. He asked me for nothing. He helped me without knowing I'd hire him. I couldn't have made it through the week without his help. Now, I'm going to help him, George."

"As you wish, I can set up an account and give him an allowance for food each day. No way to be sure he uses the money for food, but it can be done and I'd make sure he got the money."

"That's what I'm after. He's a good boy. I want him to have a chance," I said.

"Come to think of it, he's been a fine messenger while we've done business. I should have thought about it before. I use messengers to get papers to the lawyers, back to the bank, go to the telegraph office for messages. I can hire Barnaby. He's just what I need. None of those boys last long, and Barnaby has already done the job I'd have him doing."

"Would you do that for me, George?"

"No, I won't do it for you. I'll do it for me. I have a family I can let take care of him. They just lost a boy his age. They'd love to have a boy like him in the house. They won't let him run wild, and he'd have the influence of a mother and a father. I think that might work."

"Dr. Jones sure sent me to the right man, George. You've lifted all my concerns off my shoulders. I've never done business with anyone as easy as the business I've done with you. Thanks for making a hard time easier on me."

"I solve problems, John. I've done my best to solve yours. You can travel with the knowledge everything is in good hands. When you require funds, you shall have them in short order."

"That means a lot to me, George. I'll be leaving tomorrow."

When I got back to the Grand, Barnaby was waiting downstairs for me. He walked me to my room and when I sat in the chair in the sitting room, he got down and pulled off my boots.

"Thank you, Barnaby. You're a big help to me," I said.

"I try to help, Mr. John."

"I'm leaving tomorrow," I said. "I can't take you with me."

"I know," he said.

"I would take you with me, but I might not live to get to where I'm going. If I died, you'd be on your own in a land so large you can't begin to imagine it, Barnaby."

He looked up at me with those big blue eyes. He had to be thinking about going back to eating potatoes.

"I might buy a horse farm if I live. Do you like horses?"

"I guess so. They're big. I hate it when I step in the horseshit."

"We all hate that. If I live, if I buy the horse ranch, would you like me to send for you, Barnaby? George would get you to me if I sent for you. If I live."

His face took on a vacant look as if he was seeing something vividly as he sat in front of me. Then, he floored me.

"No one ever wanted me before. You send for me. I'll come to where ever you are," he said.

"I'm leaving you an allowance. George will give you money for meals each day," I said.

"Why?" he wanted to know.

"You helped me, Barnaby. Now, I'm going to help you. George is going to hire you as a messenger. You'll get paid. I want you to dress the way I showed you, and you'll need to keep clean. You're going to be representing a proper banker. You need to look respectable. We'll go in the morning for another shirt and pair of slacks before I leave."

"Why are you doing all this for me?"

"Barnaby, people help each other. You helped me. Now, I'm helping you. It's how life works. When you can, help others. You'll never regret helping others."

In the morning, we went to breakfast before I took him to the clothing shop. I walked him to George's office, but I didn't go in.

"Here's your pay, Barnaby," I said, giving him a ten dollar bill.

His big blue eyes filled with tears.

I hugged him.

"Thank you, Barnaby. Good luck," I said, walking away before I started to cry.

My best friend was a boy I'd known eight days.


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"Rolling, Rolling, Rolling"

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"My Man Barnaby"

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