In the dirtiest part of Conch City, there was a low-class tavern, the hall of which was very dim, and there was a flickering gas lamp from morning to night in winter, and even in summer, there was not a ray of sunlight shining into this gloomy and dark lair.

There was a man drinking in this tavern. He guarded a small flask and a small glass in front of him, and the strong smell of alcohol emanated from his body. Even though the lights were dim, an experienced patrolman would not hesitate to recognize that this was Zhang Fatzi.

A dirt dog crouched at his feet, sometimes raising its head, both eyes winking at its master, sometimes licking a new gaping hole in the corner of its mouth, which had apparently fallen from the latest fight.

"Be honest, you! Don't make a sound! Fat Zhang suddenly broke the silence. Whether it is because such focused thinking is distracted by the dog's vision, or whether it is because the emotion is driven by the mind and it is necessary to kick at an innocent beast in order to calm down, this question remains to be discussed. Whatever the reason, the result was that the dog received a kick and a foul scold at the same time.

Dogs generally do not retaliate against the beating and scolding of their owners, but Zhang Fatty's dog is as irritable as its owner, at this moment, perhaps because it feels greatly insulted, it didn't bother much, it bit a stinky shoe, shook it vigorously, and then screamed and retracted back to the bottom of a bench, just avoiding the wine jug that Zhang Fatty's head smashed over.

"You still dare to bite me, you still dare to bite me?" Zhang Fatzi said, one hand picked up the tongs, and the other hand took out a folding knife from his coat pocket and opened it unhurriedly. "Come here, you brute. Come up here. Are you deaf? ”

The dog undoubtedly heard, for the fat man spoke in one of the harshest scales of the most harsh tones, but he evidently had an indescribable aversion to a knife in the neck, so he remained where he was, barking more fiercely than before, and at the same time bared his teeth, and bit the end of the tongs, biting and gnawing like an untamed beast.

This resistance made Zhang Fat even more angry, and he fell to his knees and began to launch an extremely ferocious attack on the beast. The dog jumped from right to left and from left to right, fluttering up and down, growling and barking.

Zhang Fatzi poked and stabbed while swearing. The contest was going on when it was extremely urgent for both sides, when the door suddenly opened, and the dog immediately abandoned the fat man with tongs and folding knives, and escaped.

As the saying goes, if a slap doesn't sound, there will always be two sides to quarrel. When Zhang Fatzi saw that the dog refused to accompany him, he was disappointed, and immediately handed over the role of the dog in this dispute to the person who had just arrived.

"Old ghost, why are you involved in me and the dog?" Zhang Fatzi said viciously.

"I don't know, I don't know." The old camel replied in a low voice.

"I don't know, I'm a thief!" Zhang Fatzi roared angrily, "Didn't you hear the shouting? ”

"There's no sound at all, and I'm not dead." The old camel replied.

"Oh, yes. You didn't hear anything, you didn't hear," Fat Zhang let out a vicious sneer and said in response, "sneak around, and no one will know how you got out and got in." Half a minute ago, old camel, if only you had that dog. ”

"Why?" The old camel asked with a smiling face.

"Because although the patrol room remembers your little life, you can't even catch up with half the wild dog, but it doesn't care how people like to kill a dog," Zhang Fatzi replied, closing the folding knife meaningfully. "That's it."

The old camel shook hands and sat down at the table, and at his friend's joke he pretended to smile happily. However, he was clearly troubled.

"Laughing," said the fat man, putting the tongs back in their place, glancing at him with blatant contempt. He laughed. It's not your turn to laugh at me, unless it's after a late-night drink. I'm better than you, old camel, and I'm going to be like this forever. Listen, I'm done and you're done, so you give me some attention. ”

"Good, good," said the old camel, "I know that we—we—have good for each other, good for each other. ”

"Hmph," Fat Zhang seemed to feel that the old camel had received far more benefits than himself, "Come on, what do you have to say?" ”

"It's safe, it's all boiled in a crucible." "I have brought you a share of yours for a lot more than you deserve," replied the old camel, but I know that you will not treat me badly next time, and then—"

"Less like that," interrupted the robber impatiently, "where?" Bring. ”

"Okay, Fat Zhang, don't worry!" The old camel replied, like a child, "Here it is." It's a lot. As he spoke, he took out an old cotton handkerchief from his bosom, untied a large knot in the corner, and took out a small brown paper bag.

Zhang Fatzi snatched the paper bag with his hand, opened it in a hurry, and counted the ocean inside.

"That's all, huh?" Zhang Fatzi asked.

"It's all here." The old camel replied.

"You didn't open this bag along the way, and you swallowed one or two privately?" Zhang Fatzi asked suspiciously, "Don't pretend to be wronged, you've done this many times." ”

Zhang Fatzi pointed to the empty wine jug, the old camel immediately understood this hint, and withdrew to serve the wine, before withdrawing, he and the old camel exchanged a strange look, the old camel raised his eyes, as if waiting for the other party's eyes, shook his head and answered, the range of action was very small, even a careful third party could hardly notice.

Zhang Fatzi didn't notice at all, he was bending down to tie the laces of his boots that had been torn off by the dog. If he had noticed, he would probably have taken the flash of the code between the two of them as a bad omen.

"Is there anyone here?" The old camel asked, his eyes still not lifted from the ground, because Zhang Fatzi had already raised his head.

"Not a single one." Regardless of whether the man's words come from the heart or not, they all come out of the nose. "Except for Azhu, there is no one else."

"Azhu!" Zhang Fatzi shouted, "Where is it?" I really convinced her. ”

She ordered a plate of boiled beef on the counter. The guy replied.

"Tell her to come up here," said Fat Zhang, pouring a glass of wine, "calling her." ”

The man glanced timidly at Fagin, as if asking for his permission, and when he saw the old Jew sitting silently, without raising his eyes, he withdrew, and after a while he led Azhu in, and the girl was all the same.

"You've found a clue, haven't you?" Zhang Fatzi asked, handing over the wine glass.

"Yes, I found it," replied Azhu, who drank the wine from his glass, "and it really tired me enough." ”

"Oh," said the old camel, raising his head.

At that time, the old camel's red eyebrows furrowed strangely, and his sunken eyes were half-open and half-closed, and it didn't matter whether he was warning Azhu who couldn't hide his words.

She stopped suddenly, threw a few charming smiles at Zhang Fatzi, and then turned to talk about other things.

After about ten minutes, the old camel coughed vigorously, and when Azhu saw his appearance, he wrapped his scarf around his shoulders and said that it was time for her to go.

Zhang Fatzi remembered that he had a period of the same road with her, and expressed his intention to accompany her, and the two walked together, following the dog not far away, and as soon as the owner walked out of sight, the dog slipped out of the backyard.

When the fat man left the tavern, the old camel poked his head out of the door, saw him walk down the dark road, clenched his fists and shook them twice, muttered a curse, and then let out a creepy laugh, and sat down at the table again, and in a moment was deeply attracted by the interesting layout of a copy of the "Wanted".