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was this Yankee yahoo? She needed to know. |
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The waitress, a friend of Cappy's, swooped in with two fresh glasses. Hers was tea; his contained a cheap facsimile of the bourbon he had started the evening with. Now he was too far gone to know the difference. He reached out with an unsteady hand, captured the glass cylinder, arched it unevenly toward his slack mouth and gulped down the contents. Then Harvey Klinger, Airman Second Class, United States Air Force, on his way back to the States with a stopover in Saint John's, plopped his glass down, grinned foolishly, wiped off his mouth with the back of his hand and waited for applause. |
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''My God, Harvey," the young lady cooed, "I don't think I've ever seen anyone handle their liquor any better than you." |
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The slavish compliment made his day. It was his turn to make the circular motion. "Hey," he managed, "barkeep! Over here. Another round." He fumbled into his hip pocket, took out his new wallet and fished out another 20. |
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None of this was lost on Cappy Salem. She couldn't and didn't miss the fact that there were plenty more where that one came from. |
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"So, Airman," she said huskily, "how long you been in Saint Johns?" |
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Harvey blinked sheepishly and held up his pudgy hand. It took a second or two to |
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