Tuesday, November 20, 2018

At the gambling house, what new reputation did Malcolm get from the other hustlers?

Malcolm's reputation was for being trigger happy and crazy. People knew that he carried multiple guns. He was also a brash gambler and great at bluffing.
Malcolm made rash decisions at the gaming tables. He was quick to raise the stakes and played other people at the table well.
One night, at John's gambling house, he checked two guns at the door; the rule of the place was that you had to check your guns. However, he had another one on him. When another gambler "tried to pull something slick," Malcolm pulled the third gun out. This added to his already established reputation.
He says that:

Looking back, I think I really was at least slightly out of my mind. I viewed narcotics as most people regard food. I wore my guns as today I wear my neckties. Deep down, I actually believed that after living as fully as humanly possible, one should then die violently. I expected then, as I still expect today, to die at any time. But then, I think I deliberately invited death in many, sometimes insane, ways.

One example he gives is when a marine merchant sailor comes in with a stolen machine gun he wants Malcolm to sell. Malcolm asks how he knows it works and when the man loads it, Malcolm pushes it against the belly of the sailor and threatens him. The man runs out. Malcolm sells it a couple months later.

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