Publisher's Synopsis
Kent Burnett, bearing over his arm a coat newly pressed in the Delmonico restaurant, dodged inat the back door of the saloon, threw the coat down upon the tousled bed, and pushed back his hatwith a gesture of relief at an onerous duty well performed."I had one hell of a time," he announced plaintively, "and that Chink will likely try to poison meif I eat over there, after this-but I got her ironed, all right. Get into it, Man, and chase yourself overthere to the hotel. Got a clean collar? That one's all-over coffee."Fleetwood stifled a groan, reached into a trousers pocket, and brought up a dollar. "Get me oneat the store, will you, Kent? Fifteen and a half-and a tie, if they've got any that's decent. And hurry!Such a triple-three-star fool as I am ought to be taken out and shot."He went on cursing himself audibly and bitterly, even after Kent had hurried out. He was sobernow-was Manley Fleetwood-sober and self-condemnatory and penitent. His head achedsplittingly; his eyes were heavy-lidded and bloodshot, and his hands trembled so that he couldscarcely button his coat. But he was sober. He did not even carry the odor of whisky upon hisbreath or his person; for Kent had been very thoughtful and very thorough. He had compelled hispatient to crunch and swallow many nauseous tablets of "whisky killer," and he had sprinkled hisclothes liberally with Jockey Club; Fleetwood, therefore, while he emanated odors in plenty, carriedabout him none of the aroma properly belonging to intoxication.In ten minutes Kent was back, with a celluloid collar and two ties of questionable taste. Manleyjust glanced at them, waved them away with gloomy finality, and swore."They're just about the limit, and that's no dream," sympathized Kent, "but they're clean, and theydon't look like they'd been slept in for a month. You've got to put 'em on-by George, I sized upthe layout in both those imitation stores, and I drew the highest in the deck. And for the Lord's sake, get a move on. Here, I'll button it for you."Behind Fleetwood's back, when collar and tie were in place, Kent grinned and lowered an eyelidat Jim, who put his head in from the saloon to see how far the sobering had progressed.