"You prefer to stay here—do you?"
"I do; this isn't a bad place to stay, and I can stand it here a while."
"Consider well your situation, Phil. This is my room. I board here when I am in town, and—"
"It's good enough for me, if it is for you."
"It is a gambling-house, and the people who live here are my friends. I can bring in half a dozen men to help me."
"Bring them in," I replied, laughing, though I confess that I was not very much amused.
"It's no joke."
"It will not be for you when you are done with it. When my father misses me, he will be very likely to send for our friends, Mr. Lamar and Mr. Gray."
"In a word, Phil, will you give me that note."
"In a word, I will not; and in another word, I will fight just as long as I have a breath in my body, if you or anybody else attempts to meddle with me."