"They ain't nothin' like eagle-bird wheels an' snake-liniment at two bits
a throw to help a man start at the bottom," he opined, and reaching for
the half-dollar, tossed it to a forlorn-looking individual who lounged
near the door. "Here, Greaser, lend a hand in helpin' me downward!
Here's four bits. Go lay it on the wheel--an' say: I got a hunch! I
played every number on that wheel except the thirteen--judgin' it to be
onlucky." The forlorn one grinned his understanding, and clutching the
piece of silver, elbowed into the group that crowded the roulette wheel.
The cowpuncher turned once more to the surly proprietor:
"So now you see me, broke an' among evil companions, in this here
God-forsaken, lizard-ridden, Greaser-loving sheep-herdin' land of sorrow.
But, give me another jolt of that there pizen-fermentus an' I'll raise to
heights unknown. A few more shots of that an' they ain't no tellin' what
form of amusement a man's soul might incline to."
"Y'got the price?"
"I ain't got even the makin's--only an ingrowin' cravin' fer spiritual
licker an' a hankerin' to see America first----"
"That hoss," the proprietor jerked a thumb toward the open door beyond
which the big rangy black pawed fretfully at the street. "Mebbe we might
make a trade. I got one good as him 'er better.
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