Chapter 7, Longlegged Jack of the Isthmus Summary

Joe Harland sits and considers his finances after losing his job at forty-five years of age. An old man talks about the photos of actresses in the paper he reads, and Joe argues that many people like the photos. The old man is stuck in the same monologue, and Joe walks away. He stops in a bar for drinks and the free lunch. He talks about his good luck charm, a particular necktie, and how he lost his luck in trading stocks when a woman he loved threw the tie into a fire.

A Western Union messenger boy sneaks into an apartment and steals what he thinks is a roll of money. He then goes into another apartment and is caught. Ellen holds a revolver on the messenger boy as Stan watches on...