The tall, thin man shook his head. “Not tonight. I’m waiting for someone. Maybe some other night. I like a good fight.”
“Yeah?” Manuel’s face brightened. “So do I. I like a good fight too. There has been some pretty bum shows recently. Did you see McCoy give up in the sixth?”
“Yes.”
“Why did he do that, do you think?”
“They say he was scared, but it wasn’t that. He had something on his mind. It must be tough going into the ring with something bad on your mind. The public don’t care. All they want to see is a fight. It doesn’t matter how much trouble you’ve got, you’ve got to leave it outside. Well, I guess McCoy took it in with him.”
Manuel regarded the tall, thin man thoughtfully. “You reckon that’s what the trouble was, do you?” he said.
“Of course. It couldn’t have been anything else. McCoy isn’t yellow. He wasn’t getting the breaks.”
Manuel, who didn’t miss anything, said: “You’ll pardon me, but are you waiting for a lady?”
The tall, thin man played with his glass, his eyes went frosty. “Curiosity?” he said.
Manuel put down the glass he was polishing. He jerked his head. “Some lady’s lookin’ for someone,” he said. “I thought maybe it was you.”