Eight years had heightened his forehead perceptibly and thinned the hair on his temples.

"You see what it's done to me," he pointed out lugubriously.

"You ain't married yourself, I suppose?
You look like you'd met up with some kinda misfortune." Mason was regarding Ford's scarred face with some solicitude.
"Just got tangled up a little with my fellow-citizens, in Sunset," Ford explained drily.

"I tried to see how much of the real stuff I could get outside of, and then how many I could lick." He shrugged his shoulders a little.

"I did quite a lot of both," he added, as an afterthought.
Mason was rubbing his jaw reflectively and staring hard at Ford.