Topdog/Underdog

Saturday morning, Lincoln wakes up before dawn. Booth is still asleep. Lincoln complains about the lack of plumbing and finds a cup to urinate in. Having fallen asleep in his Abraham Lincoln costume, Lincoln tears it off himself, ripping it. Lincoln imagines the scene when his employers see the ripped beard and knows that they will expect him to pay for it. He fantasizes about quitting on the spot and then choking his boss. Then Lincoln reminds himself, “Sit down job. With benefits” (59). Lincoln reminisces about how good he was at hustling with cards. Then one day he realized that he didn’t want to do it anymore. That was the day that Lonny was shot and Lincoln quit. 

He says, “There’s more to Link than that. More to me than some cheap hustle” (60). He remembers the tourist couple that he and Lonnie conned out of thousands of dollars. Lonny was the one who drew customers in. When he died, no one knew or cared who killed him. Lincoln looks at Booth’s cards and decides not to touch them. He pretends to shuffle instead, remembering his patter and becoming more and more engrossed like an addict.