And you can't bluff me, Mr.Gambler.I may have no hand to play, but you can't make me lay it down," she replied.
Something told me Sally Langdon was finding herself; that presently I could not frighten her, and then--then I would be doomed.
"Why, if I got drunk, I might do anything," I said cool and hard now.
"Cut off your beautiful chestnut hair for bracelets for my arms." Sally laughed, but she was still white.

She was indeed finding herself.
"If you ever get drunk again you can't kiss me any more.

And if you don't--you can." I felt myself shake and, with all of the iron will I could assert, I hid from her the sweetness of this thing that was my weakness and her strength.
"I might lasso you from my horse, drag you through the cactus," I added with the implacability of an Apache.
"Russ!" she cried.

Something in this last ridiculous threat had found a vital mark.

"After all, maybe those awful stories Joe Harper told about you were true." "They sure were," I declared with great relief.