It’d been a tough week in the Burra Burra mine. A couple of mine explosions caused injuries and pay for the miners was two weeks behind. Buck sat at a table at the local gin mill with an ale in his hand and a woman on his mind.
About the time Buck was about to settle in, Tommy and Wade, two particularly large and short-tempered miners walked in mid-argument. Buck, sat quietly and continued drinking. The two mugs sat at the next table as their argument continued to escalate.
Out of the corner of his eye, Buck saw Tommy lunge across the table with anger in his eyes. Without leaving his chair or putting down his beer, Buck pushed Tommy to the floor and forced his foot into the crick of Tommy’s back. With his non-beer hand Buck held Wade by his long beard.
“The way I look at it”, Buck observed, “the two of you have a couple of choices. Either you can resolve this right here and now, or I can get up out of this chair.” No one knows for sure what happened next, but a short time later the three men could be seen slapping each other on the back and sharing a laugh over a tasty Ragin Red Ale.