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 He took another drink to grease his memory, which was one with a heavy pull-off, and stood thinking. He lifted his head at last, and then shook it.

"I'm a perfect sucker, I am," said Gedge; "of course it was Hale."

"What Hale?" asked Piilsbury, who began to show more interest in the story. "Not Bill Hale of Sweetwater?"

"That very same Hale," said Gedge; "and when I say that same Bill Hale, I mean a man that I hev no respect for, and a man that no one thinks of lovin' to the extent of doin' as much as go to his funeral when he final kicks."

"Agreed," said Piilsbury; "I never had no use for Hale."

"Nevertheless, though we hev no respectful opinion of Hale, it was him that made that same Smith take water and sit down and cry."

"Did he weep, actually weep?" asked his brother gambler.

"Real tears and sobs, most horrid and painful to see and hear, my son," replied the older sport. "The whole thing made me feel