"
At this juncture an old woman appeared in the entrance, shouting:
"Who was the dirty son of a bitch that broke the lantern?"
"Shut up, shut up," answered the mule-driver. "It's all paid for."
"Come along!" said Manuel to Roberto.
They left the inn and strode off at a fast clip. They entered the San
Millan cafe. Roberto ordered supper. Manuel knew Tabuenca from having
seen him in the street, and as they ate he explained to Roberto just
what sort of fellow he was.
Tabuenca made his living through a number of inventions that he
himself constructed. When he saw that the public was tiring of one
thing, he would put another on the market, and so he managed to get
along. One of these contraptions was a wafer-mold wheel that revolved
around a circle of nails among which numbers were inscribed and
colours painted. This wheel the owner carried about in a pasteboard
box with two covers, which were divided into tiny squares with numbers
and colours corresponding to those placed around the nails, and here
the bets were laid. Tabuenca would carry the closed box in one hand
and a field table in the other. He would set up his outfit at some
street corner, give the wheel a turn and begin to mutter in his
whining voice;
"'Round goes the wheel. Place your bets, gentlemen.... Place your
bets. Number or colour .
Pages:
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125