ek.

Gambling was practically wide open, too, and before long Gray found
himself in a superheated, overcrowded back room with a stack of silver
dollars which he scattered carelessly upon the numbers of a roulette
table. Roulette was much like the oil game. This was a good way in
which to kill an hour.

Absorbed in his own thoughts, Gray paid little heed to those about him,
until a large hand picked up one of his bets. Then he raised his eyes.
The hand was attached to a muscular arm, which in turn was attached to
a burly stranger of unpleasant mien. Gray voiced a good-natured
protest, but the fellow scowled and refused to acknowledge his mistake.
Noting that the man was flushed, Gray shrugged and allowed the incident
to pass. This bootleg whisky from across Red River was of a quality to
scatter a person's eyesight.

For some time the game continued before Gray won again, and the dealer
deposited thirty-five silver dollars beside his bet. Again that
sun-browned hand reached forth, but this time Gray seized it by the
wrist. He and the stranger eyed each other for a silent moment, during
which the other players looked on.

Gray was the first to speak. "If you're not as drunk as you seem," he
said, easily, "you'll excuse yourself. If you are, you need sobering."

With a wrench the man undertook to free his hand; he uttered a
threatening oath. The next instant he was treated to a surprise, for
Gray jerked him forward and simultaneously his empty palm struck the
fellow a blinding, a resounding smack. Twice he smote that reddened
cheek with the sound of an explosion, then, as the victim flung his
body backward, Gray kicked his feet from under him. Again he cuffed the
fellow's face, this time from the other side. When he finally desisted
the stranger rocked in his tracks; he shook his head; he blinked and he
cursed; it was a moment before he could focus his whirling sight upon
his assailant. When he succeeded it was to behold the latter staring at
him with a mocking, threatening smile.

The drunken man hesitated, he cast a slow glance around the room, then
muttering, hoarsely, he turned and made for the door. He was followed
by a burst of derisive laughter that grew louder as he went.

Gray was in a better mood now than for several hours; he had vented his
irritation; the air had cleared. After a while he discovered that he
was hungry; no longer was he too resentful to heed the healthy warning
of his stomach, so he left