Signore Difranco nodded in agreement. "Mining is hard work and very seldom pays off in a big way. There are just enough people—a minority, mind you—who strike it rich to keep the throng encouraged and scrambling about the hills seeking their fortunes. At least that is what I found in Leadville."
He then proceeded to tell Bat about his good fortune in buying and selling mining properties.
"You played the game the right way, Difranco," Bat said. "I wouldn't be caught on the blister end of no damn shovel either."
Like most "sporting men' of that era, Bat was an expert gambler who preferred cards to hard labor, or even guns for that matter, despite his reputation as a gun shark.
"Going around heeled can get you killed, whereas if you lose in faro or poker, it is seldom fatal," he said.
Ne
