"
"Bah, you must be soused to the gills!"
"You only wish you were as sober as I. Bah!"
"What? You're so full you can't talk!"
"Go on; shut up. You're so drunk you can't stand; I tell you, if you
run afoul of this guy"--and Besuguito pointed to Leandro--"you're in
for a bad time."
"Hell, no!"
"That's my opinion, anyhow."
"You don't have any opinion here, or anything like it," exclaimed
Leandro. "You're going to clear out and shut up. Valencia's liver is
whiter than paper; it's as Pastiri says. Brave enough when it comes to
exploiting boobs like you and the other tramps and low lives,... but
when he bucks up against a chap that's all there, hey? Bah! He's a
white-livered wretch, that's what."
"True," assented all.
"And maybe we won't let him hear a few things," said the escaped
convict, "if he has the nerve to return here for his share of the
winnings."
"I should say!" exclaimed Pastiri.
"Very well, gentlemen, it's my treat now," said Leandro, "for I've got
the money and I happen to feel like it." He fished out a couple of
coins from his pocket and slapped them down on the table. "Lady, let's
have something to drink."
"Right away."
"Manuel! Manuel!" shouted Leandro several times. "Where in thunder has
that kid disappeared?"
Manuel, following the example of the bully, had made his escape by the
back door.
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