ABSTRACT
The men that work in the rock quarries of Hardscrabble County are so tough they crack great big rocks just by spitting on them. When they get constipated in the rock quarry camp they never use anything but blasting powder, and they whip their children with barb wire until the kids get to ten years old and then they thresh their parents. The quarryman got in a little better humour then, and began passing the time away by spitting on the floor and burning holes right through to the ground underneath. A man that sets brick in a pavement only needs to have a weak mind, a strong back, and a great big hand with long fingers that will stretch and won’t strain easy. The bartender dashed out the back way and hotfooted it to the drug store and got the stuff for the drinks.
