about seven
to five
Every now and then he 'd stop and pick up a pebble or a handful of dirt and take it to one side where he 'd examine it for half an hour . Then he 'd throw it away and start that sentry thing again . Well , she said , this bird had been down to South America where he had discovered some kind of a mineral that had made him very rich and some kind of a fever that had made him very sick . He was at the sanitarium so 's the doctors could keep a eye on him , the bettin ' bein ' about seven to five that he would go nutty , if some excavatin ' was n't done immediately on his dome . A operation will save him , but his parents wo n't think of it , and there you are . When she stopped , I told her that whilst I never had performed no operations before , beyond once when I pulled a loose tooth of Scanlan 's between the second and third round of a fight , I would get somebody to sneak me in some tools and get to work on the big guy the first chance I got . She give a little squeal and says that was n't what she wanted me to do , gettin ' pale and prettier every minute .