Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: Part 2, Chapter 12 Summary & Analysis

It has been seventy-two hours since the run-in with Alice, and no other maids have even tried to enter the room. Suddenly, the phone begins to ring. It is Bruce Innes, Duke’s friend from Circus-Circus. He has just found the ape that Duke has been trying to buy. Last night, the man wanted $400, but now the price is $750. “What kind of greedhead are we dealing with?” Duke asks. Bruce claims the ape is housebroken, which drives up the price. “I’ll be there in ten minutes,” Duke says.

When Duke arrives at Circus-Circus, an old man is being loaded into an ambulance. He approaches Bruce at the bar. “Where is it?” Duke asks. “I’m ready to write a check.” Bruce tells Duke that the ape has just attacked a man at the bar and has been taken by the police. “Goddamnit,” says Duke. “What’s the bail? I want that ape.” Bruce tells Duke to “get a grip.” He doesn’t even need an ape, Bruce argues. Duke finally agrees and sits at the bar.

Bruce asks Duke when he is leaving town. “As soon as possible,” Duke answers. “You found the American Dream?” Bruce asks. “In this town?” Duke confirms he has indeed. “We’re sitting on the main nerve,” he says. Duke explains that the owner of Circus-Circus always wanted to run away with the circus as a child and Bruce immediately understands. “Yeah, I see what you mean,” he says. “Now the bastard has his own circus, and a license to steal, too.” Duke nods. “It’s pure Horatio Alger,” he says.

Duke is eager to get out of Vegas. “A little bit of this town goes a very long way,” he says. He claims that five days in Vegas can feel like five years. “Some people say they like it,” Duke says, “but then some people like Nixon, too. He would make a perfect Mayor for this town; with John Mitchell as Sheriff and Agnew as Master of Sewers.”