Mere vocal persuasiveness did not serve to arrest the flow of pedestrians, and so McWade's ingenuity was taxed.
But he was equal to the task; seldom did he fail of ideas, and, once he had the attention of a crowd, the rest was easy.
One morning he and his partner provided themselves with some dice and several hundred dollars in gold coin.

With these they began shooting craps on the sidewalk in front of their office.

Now gambling was taboo, hence the spectacle of two expensively dressed, eminently prosperous men squatting upon their heels with a stack of double eagles before them caused a sensation, and people halted to witness their impending arrest.

Soon traffic was blocked.
The gamblers remained engrossed in their pastime, as well they could, having thoughtfully arranged the matter with the policeman on duty; gravely they breathed upon the cubes; earnestly they called upon "Little Joe," "Long Liz," "Ada," and the rest; silently they exchanged their stacks of gold pieces as they won or lost.
Calvin Gray, but just arrived from Dallas, looked on at the game with some curiosity, not divining its purpose, until McWade pocketed the dice, then mounted a box at the curb and began, loudly: "Now, gentlemen, that is one way of making money, but it is a foolish and a hazardous way.

There is a much saner, safer method, and I'm going to tell you about it.