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. Don't pass on until you hear
me, for I have a most incredible story to relate, and you'll be
sorry you missed it."

There was a ripple of appreciative laughter, but the crowd
pressed closer as the orator continued:

"You've all heard about these 'doodlebugs' who go around locating
oil with a divining rod, haven't you? And you don't believe in
them. Of course you don't. Neither do I. I can't put any trust in
willow twigs, but--we'll all admit that there are forces of nature
that we don't understand. Who can explain the principle of
magnetic attraction, for instance? What causes the glowing
splendor of the Aurora Borealis? What force holds the compass
needle to the north? What makes a carpet tack jump onto a magnet
like"--the speaker paused and stared hard at a member of his
audience who had passed a humorous remark at his expense--"just
like I'll jump you, stranger, if you don't keep your trap closed.
I say who can read those secrets, who can harness those forces?
The man who can has got the world by the tail and a downhill pull.
Now then, for the plot of my story, and it will pay you to do a
week of listening in the next five minutes. Awhile ago an eminent