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"These days? These days he’s--I’aoes around to all the bars in the county, every place that sells pull tabs In Minnesota, the winning tabs uy can look at a box and deter tabs are still left to be pulled Soet a box that’swinners, they haven’t been pulled yet What Josie does, he looks for these boxes When he finds one, he determines if the total amount of the winners still left in the box is worthtabs If it is, well then he just buys the entire box, guaranteeing himself a nice payday

"Probleht cost a couple of thousand dollars and it’s illegal to buy pull tabs with a check or credit card, so Josie has to carry a lot of cash with hi that kind of erous," I said

"Tell "

"I’ve noticed"

"People know hi the pull tabs, they don’t like it rabs all the winners This one tiot a place out on the county road, kinda isolated One night these guys juh, he hid rand he said--in his boots Proble how he outfoxed the uys juhts later Only this time they take all of his money and his boots"

"Surprise, surprise, surprise," I said

"Ah, Josie What a guy"

"Where does he get his seed money?"

"Who knows? Hey, Josie"

Bloo, he appeared even worse off than when he left His face was paler, his eyes flat and expressionless, and he continued to scratch his hands and face He looked as though he had as htedworld out there Nick, ’cept when it’s the other way round"

"I hear that"

" ’Bout that drink"

"Dinner should be ready in a jiff" Axelrod came around the bar and took Bloom by the arm "I have a nice booth for you Sit here and Jace will be with you in a ed him hard and Bloom half sat, half fell into the booth He leaned both elbows on the table and held his head

"Christ, Nick"

Axelrod excused himself so he could tend bar At the same time, someone had pumped a fistful of quarters into the jukebox The music--some country hokum about the appeal of wo everyone to raise their voices Bloo his head with both hands I glanced at Axelrod As soon as his back was turned I motioned to the other bartender and asked him to pour a shot of rye whiskey and a beer chaser I took both to Bloom, set the his eyes like I was someone he’d met before but couldn’t place

"May I join you, Mr Bloom?"

His little eyes blinked atme Maybe he hadn’t hearde He didn’t see s and sighed like a tire with a slow leak I had pounded them myself from time to time, only not like that Never like that I wondered what kind of pain would make a man drink the way Josiah Bloom drank? Or was it pain? Maybe it was just habit