refreshment\"parlours，\"wheredrinkswereservedbydozensof\"prettywaiter—girls，\"andhugedance—halls。
Theproprietorsoftheseplaceswereaboldandunscrupulouslot。
Intheireverydaybusinesstheyhadtodealwiththemostdangerousrough—and—tumblefightersthiscountryhaseverknown；withmenbubblingoverwiththejoyoflife，readyforquarrelifquarrelalsospelledfun，drinkingdeep，andheavy—handedandfearlessintheircups。Buteachoftheserivermenhadtwoorthreehundreddollarsto\"blow\"assoonaspossible。Thepickingsweregood。Mengotrichveryquicklyatthisbusiness。Andthereexistedthisgreatadvantageinfavourofthedive—keeper：nobodycaredwhathappenedtoariverman。Youcouldpoundhimovertheheadwithaleadpipe，ordrughisdrink，orchokehimtoinsensibility，orrobhimandthrowhimoutintothestreet，orevendrophimtidilythroughatrap—doorintotheriverflowingconvenientlybeneath。
Nobodybothered——unless，ofcourse，theaffairwassobungledastobecomepublic。Thepoliceknewenoughtostayawaywhenthedrivehittown。Theywouldhavebeenannihilatediftheyhadnot。Theonlyflyinthedivekeeper’sointmentwasthattherivermanwouldfightback。
Andfightbackhedid，untilfromoneendofhisstreettotheotherhehadleftthebatteredevidencesofhisskillasawarrior。Hisconstantheavyliftingmadehimashardasnailsandasstrongasahorse；thecontinualdemandonhisagilityinridingthelogskepthimactiveandpreventedhimfrombecomingmuscle—bound；inhiswildheartwasnottheleasttraceoffearofanythingthatwalked，crawled，orflew。Andhewasastirelessasmachinery，andapparentlyasindifferenttopunishmentasamancastiniron。