"Say, Sister, you're dern good looking. I'd like to see more of you," said Joe, as he poured more whiskey, and leaned over the bar and patted Pearl on the arm. "I'm O. K. You ask Ev if I ain't. How about it, Ev?" "I'll say you're O. K., Joe, and you've spent many a dollar on me, but Jees, you're seventy years old if you're a day. Don't you ever get too old for this sort of thing?" "You'll have to ask somebody older than I am," answered Joe. "Don't let her kid you, Joe," smiled Pearl, "You and I will get together real soon, how's that?" "Here, here, here--you two, let's don't have an exhibition on such short notice. We gotta be moving along. We got a lot of hard drinking to do tonight, as well as a few dollars to earn." "Oh, Ev, don't be in no hurry. You and Pearl have another drink on the house." "Well--I guess we better have another little one before we go, eh, Pearl?" "Sure, Ev. I'd as soon get lit here with Joe, as later. Makes no difference by me." Joe poured the drinks, and one for himself. "Here's how," said Joe, as he poured his down. "We'll be seeing you," waved Ev, as they started for the door. "Let's see--seeing that we're on this side of the street, we might as well go to the Gold Palace. It's only four or five doors down this way." The Gold Palace, a large cabaret, with a balcony on one side, the dance floor surrounded by tables and chairs with their real ugliness covered with dirty green covers, of none too certain age, with a band stand at the far end of the place, the bar off to the right doing a rushing business. "We might as well go in here and cop a couple of snorts of liquor, and see if there's any of the girls in yet," said Ev, as she started for the bar. "Hello, Curley--my, you look grand tonight," Ev greeted the young bartender, as they stood up to the rail. "I want you to meet one of the new girls who just came to town. Curley, this is Pearl." "Hello, Pearl--I'm always glad to meet a new girl. Now, what will you have to drink?" "Whiskey for me," said Pearl, "what do you want, Ev?" "Whiskey, and lots of it, Curley," answered Ev. "Say, for cripes sake," said Pearl under her breath, "who is that kid? Jees, he's cute. I've been in here several times, and every time I've seen him, I get all worked up over him." "Cool thyself, Sister, it will doith thee no good to workith thyself into a lather about him. The old jane who owns this joint--well, her daughter married him. That's why he is working here, and is true to the wife, maybe not because he wants to be, but because he'd better be, or else lose a certain section of his anatomy which would cause him to be of no further use to anyone--ssshhh--here he comes with the drinks, I'll tell you more later. How is your wife, Curley?" smiled Ev. "She's fine," answered Curley, as he went to wait on other customers.