We been partners ‘leven years, on ‘n off. It’s good ta have yerself a partner. Less chance a somebody fuckin’ with ya if they knows they gotta tangle with two guys instead a one.  Ya got a guy ta cover yer back. A partner can come in handy. Like when ya goes inta town fer food er somethin’, one a yas can stay in the jungle ‘n watch the gear while the other makes the run. If ya ain’t got a partner, ya gotta drag yer stuff, pile it on yer back ‘n haul it ev’ry damn place.

B’fore we teamed up, I rid the railroad alone. It can git to ya. Ye’ll start talkin’ ta yerself after awhile. Them four walls in a boxcar ain’t much of a companion when yer lookin’ fer somebody ta talk ta.

We go way back. I can count on him, ‘n he knows he can count on me. We helped each other outta plenty a jams. Been in jail t’gether. Hire out on jobs t’gether. Drivin’ combines mostly. The wheat country, Montana, the Dakotas, we git work up there ev’ry year. Them farmers know us, ‘n they knows we can handle their machin’ry. Them combines is damn good size pieces a ‘quipment ‘n ya gotta know how ta handle ‘em. If ya ain’t got the know-how, nobody’s gonna hire ya on. They can’t afford ta risk ya bustin’ up one a their machines aroun’ harvest time. It ain’t like ya c’n jus’ hop up in the cab ‘n take off in the thing. Ya gotta have the know-how. We work the same farms year after year. Ya git a good name ‘n it gits aroun’. One farmers tells another, “Hey, them boys is good on the job,” ‘n ya got more work lined up fer next year. Important thing is ta stay sober on the job. The wheat’s in, then ya can raise hell. Yer owed a little hell raisin’ then. There’s one guy in North Dakota, a scrawny little guy, use’ta give us a fifth a whiskey with our pay. Damned if he didn’t siddown with us ‘n go to work on that bottle.  I think the son of a bitch drank more of it than we did.

69.