"Then he goes upstairs, leaning on the balusters, and gets his four ten-dollar bills that had been folded away all neat at the bottom of his trunk, and before I could think of anythin' wholesome to say—I was that scandalised —they was goin' off across the street to the Horseshoe Gamin' Parlour, this feller Hoover seemin' very sanguine and asking Bernal whether he was sure they was a party in town could do it up right after they'd went and won the money for it.
"Well, sir, I jest set there thinkin' how this boy Bernal Linford was brought up for a preacher, and 'Jest look at him now!' I says to myself—and I guess it was mebbe an hour later I seen 'em comin' out of the swingin' blinds in the door of this place, and a laffin' fit to kill themselves. 'High Mighty! they done it!' I says, watchin' 'em laff and slap each other on the back till Hoover had to stop in the middle of the street to cough. Well, they come into the Commercial office where I am and I says, 'Well, boys, how much did you fellers win?' and Hoover says, 'Not a cent! We lost our roll,' he says. 'It's the blamedest funniest thing I ever heard of,' he says, just like that, laffin' again fit to choke.
"'I don't see anythin' to laff at,' I says. 'How you goin' to live?'
"'How's he goin' to die?' says Bernal, 'without a cent to do it on?'
"'That's the funny part of it,' says Hoover. 'Linford thought of it first. How can I die now? It wouldn't be square,' he says—'me without a cent!'
"Then they both began to laugh—but me, I couldn't see nothin' funny about it.
"Wal, I left early next mornin', not wantin' to have to refuse 'em a loan."