About three days after this, a slick lookin' feller came ridin' in
about sun-down, an' of course they booked him for supper an' bed; a
stranger didn't want to expose himself to a meal at that outfit, less'n
he was in the mood to eat. He was a fine easy talker, an' he had indoor
hands too, an' one o' these smiles what is made to order; what you
might call a candidate's smile--a sort o' lightin' up in honor o' the
person bein' addressed. Barbie had a bit of a headache, 'cause her
cinch had broke that mornin' while she was havin' a little argument
with a bad-actor; an' about eight o'clock she give us the fare-you-well
an' fluttered up to bed.
So the four of us--me, Dick, the stranger, an' ol' Jabez--sat there
smokin' seegars an' tellin' anecdotes. About nine Piker, which was the
name the stranger had handed in, sez, "Do you gentlemen ever indulge in
a little friendly game?"
Now Dick had never throwed a card in his life, to my knowin'. The ol'
man used to play some, but he was mighty choicy who he played with;
while I--well, o' course, I played. Dick didn't say anything at first,
but he give the stranger a long an' a curious look, as though he was
tryin' to place him. He looked so long that both me an' the ol' man
noticed it. "I don't care to play," sez Dick, blowin' a ring o' smoke
to the ceilin'.
The ol' man had been trottin' along without a break for a consid'able
of a stretch, an' the proposition looked amply sufficient to him, so he
sez pleasantly, "Well, now, boys, it wouldn't be a bad way to spend the
evenin'. We could make the stakes small an' we could have a right
sociable time together."
'Tain't altogether wise to jump hasty at another man's idee of size. I
had seen the ol' man sit in a game where steers was the ante an'
car-loads the limit; but at that time I thought I knew just a little
wee mite more about the game than any other man what played straight,
so I sez, "Well, I'll set in a while; but I don't care to lose more'n a
hundred dollars"; which was just what I'd saved out for a little
vacation I was ruminatin' about.
"Oh, we'll only play a quarter ante an' five dollar limit," sez Jabez.
"Come on, boys, clear the table an' let's get started."
Dick didn't seem to want to play at all, but after the ol' man had
coaxed him a little he drew up his chair an' we started in. The old
man's deck was purty tol'able careworn an' floppy, an' the stranger
sez, "I happen to have a couple o' new decks what have never been
opened. We'll open one in honor o' the occasion."
"This deck is good enough," sez Dick, an' he spoke purty harsh. As me
an' the ol' man looked up, our glances met an' we showed surprise. Dick
wasn't a bit like himself; but the stranger didn't take no offense, he
just smiled a bit careless an' put his cards on the stand, sayin,
"Well, I'll just leave 'em here handy, an' if we decide to use 'em
later we can open 'em up. For my part, I like a new deck."
"So do I," sez the ol' man. "I'm sorry mine are so bum. I meant to send
for some new ones a long time ago, but I allus forgot it."
The stranger took out a healthy lookin' stack o' gold, Dick an' Jabez
did the same, an' my little squad o' yella fellers looked purty
tol'able squeezy. Dick was tremendous sober; his face was pale, his
eyes were hid away beneath his brows, an' kept dartin' here an' there
like the eyes of a hawk. Now for me, I allus have a curious promonition
when anything is goin' to happen, an' I began to have it bad.
Still the longer we played the easier Dick got in his ways, an' purty
soon he was smilin' as open-faced as a dollar watch. We played along
nice an' gentle; my luck arrived early, an purty soon the yella fellers
begun to percalate in my direction. About half-past ten Piker had to
dig up some more funds, an' he sez, "It's gettin' kind o' late, boys,
let's raise the edge a bit. Hawkins there has had all the luck so far,
an' when it changes we ought to have a show to get back our riskin's."
"All right," sez Jabez, "we'll double."
"The stakes suit me all right," sez Dick. "In fact, I'd ruther split
'em."