And dad had caught me when I'd all but overdrawn my account at the bank.

I was always doing that, for dad paid the bills.

That last night with Barney MacTague hadn't been my night to win, and I'd dropped quite a lot there.

And--oh, what's the use?
I was broke, all right enough, and I was hungry enough to eat the proverbial crust.
It seemed to me it might be a good idea to hunt up the gentleman named Perry Potter, whom dad called his foreman.

I turned around and caught a tall, brown-faced native studying my back with grave interest.