e dared to kill a man for money, but they were ready enough to
cheat a poor _pelado_ out of his living, which often came to the same
thing. He felt that he was bigger than most of them, if not better. His
self-respect was strengthened.

"Life is a fight," he told himself, feeling that he had hit upon a
profound and original idea. "Every man wants pretty women and money. He
gets them if he has enough nerve and enough sense. And somebody else gets
hurt, because there aren't enough pretty women and money to go around."

It seemed to him that this was the essence of all wisdom.

CHAPTER XV

Ramon had always been rather a solitary figure in his own town. Although
he belonged nominally to the "bunch" of young gringos, Jews and Mexicans,
who foregathered at the White Camel Pool Hall, their amusements did not
hold his interest very strongly. They played a picayune game of poker,
which resulted in a tangled mass of debt; they went on occasional mild
sprees, and on Saturday nights they visited the town's red light district,
hardy survivor of several vice crusades, where they danced with portly
magdalenes in gaudy kimonos to the music of a mechanical piano,
luxuriating in conscious wickedness.

All of this had seemed romantic and delightfully vicious to Ramon a few
years before, but it soon palled on his restless and discontented spirit.
He had formed the habit of hunting alone, and had found adventures more to
his taste. But now he found himself in company more than ever before. He
was bid to every frolic that took place. In the White Camel he was often
the centre of a small group, which included men older than himself who had
never paid any attention to him before, but now addressed him with a
certain deference. Although he understood well enough that most of the
attentions paid him had an interested motive, he enjoyed the sense of
leadership which these gatherings gave him. If he was not a real leader
now, he intended to become one. He listened to what men said, watched
them, and said little himself. He was quick to grasp the fact that a
reputation for shrewdness and wisdom is made by the simple method of
keeping the mouth shut.

He made many acquaintances among the new element which had recently come
to town from the East in search of health or money, but he made no real
friends because none of these men inspired him with respect. Only one man
he attached to himself, and that one