THE MAN WITH NERVE At about ten o'clock of the Fourth of July a rider topped the summit of the last swell of land, and loped his animal down into the single street of Pereza.

The buildings on either side were flat-roofed and coated with plaster.

Over the sidewalks extended wooden awnings, beneath which opened very wide doors into the coolness of saloons.
Each of these places ran a bar, and also games of roulette, faro, craps, and stud poker.

Even this early in the morning every game was patronised.
The day was already hot with the dry, breathless, but exhilarating, heat of the desert.

A throng of men idling at the edge of the sidewalks, jostling up and down their centre, or eddying into the places of amusement, acknowledged the power of summer by loosening their collars, carrying their coats on their arms.