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 once when it got loose and dropped twelve levels an' it weren't a shake to this; just what you might call mildly exhileratin'! I'd hate like hell to get killed in the middle of New York City, boy; it wouldn't sound well back at Lone Mesa, would it? Folks 'd think I was drunk!"

He heaved a sigh of genuine relief when the cab pulled up with a final plunge in front of the hotel.

"Son," he said, as he paid the driver, "you're sure cheatin' yourself when you only ask eighty cents for that ride. There was eleven dollars' worth of excitement to it. There's a two-spot. You keep the change, son, it'll help pay your funeral expenses some day; and if it ain't mighty soon I miss my guess!"