Casey sighed, gazing wishfully back at the Casey Ryan he had
been and might never be again.

"No, sir, I ain't so darned rich I ain't willin' to add a few more iron
men to the bunch. But on account of the missus I've got to kinda pick
my chances. I ain't had money so long but what it feels good to remind
myself I got it. I carry a thousand dollars or so in my inside pocket,
just to count over now an' then to convince myself I needn't worry
about a grubstake. I've got to soak it into my bones gradual that I
can afford to settle down and live tame, like the missus wants.
Stand-up collars every day, an' step into a chiny bathtub every night
an' scrub--when you ain't doin' nothin' to git dirt under your finger
nails even! Funny, the way city folks act. The less they do to git
dirty, the more soap they wear out. You can ask anybody if that ain't
right.

"Can't chew tobacco in the house, even, 'cause there's no place yuh
dast to spit. I stuck m' head out of the bedroom window oncet, an I
let fly an' it landed on a lady; an' the missus went an' bought her a
new hat an took my plug away from me. I had to keep my chewin' tobacco
in the tool-box of my car, after that, an' sneak out to the beach now
an' then an' chew where I could spit in the ocean. That's city life
for yuh!"

"When I git to thinkin' about hittin' out into the hills prospectin, or
somethin', that roll uh dough I pack stands right on its hind legs an'
says I got no excuse. I've got enough to keep me in bacon an' beans,
anyway. An' the missus gits down in the mouth when I so much as
mention minin'."

"A guy grows old fast when he quits the game and sets down to do the
grandpa-by-the-fire. First you know, a clown that thinks it's time he
took it easy is gummin' 'is grub, and shiverin' when yuh open the door,
an' takin' naps in the daytime same as babies. Let a guy once preach
he's gettin' old--"

Casey jerked the gas lever and jumped the car ahead viciously. "Well,
now, any time yuh see CASEY RYAN gummin' 'is grub an' needin' a nap
after dinner--"

"A clown GITS that way once he pulls out of the game. I've saw it
happen time an' again." The young man laughed rather irritatingly.
"Say, when I tell it to Bill Masters that Casey Ryan has plumb played
out his string an' laid down an' QUIT, by hock, and can be seen
hereafter SETTIN' WITH A SHAWL OVER HIS SHOULDERS--"

Casey nearly turned the Ford over at that insult. He jerked it back
into the roa