"Three to one," sez Piker, "the stakes are doubled."
"The original agreement can't be changed durin' a game without the
unanimous consent of all the players," sez Dick, speakin' like a judge;
"but as the rest of you wish it, I'll give mine."
From that on the luck shifted. Two or three times I see a queer look
steal across the ol' man's face; but everything was out in the open, as
far as I could see. I played even Steven; but the wind shifted plumb
away from Jabez, an' he lost steady. Part of the time Dick corraled the
pots, an' part of the time me an' Piker provided shelter for 'em: but
no matter who won, the ol' man lost.
Twice he frowned purty serious, an' once I caught him givin' Dick a
queer hurt look. The ol' man hadn't a drop o' welcher blood in his
make-up; but cheatin' was spelled in mighty red letters to 'im. Dick
was smilin' now as sweet as a girl baby, an' makin' funny, joshin'
remarks, which was a new turn for him; but at the same time the' was
somethin' in his face that wasn't altogether pleasant.
When midnight arrived Dick an' Piker was each about two thousand ahead,
I was slidin' back to taw, an' the old man was payin' the fiddler. We
had doubled the edge again at eleven, an' were usin' both the strange
decks, changin' every few deals. Then the luck began to settle to Dick.
Two out of three times on his own deals, an' every single time on
Piker's deals, the devidends slid into Dick's coffers, while I was
growin' resigned to havin' had a good run for my money. Jabez' face was
drawn an' worried, which was queer, 'cause he was allus a royal loser.
At last we had built up a four-story jack-pot, an' every feller's face
wore the take-off-your-hat-to-me smile. It was Dick's deal an' we all
held three cards except Jabez who had furnished openers. He only
wintered through a pair, but after he looked at his draw he settled
back to enjoy himself. I held three kings an' a brace o trays. It
looked to me as if that jack-pot belonged to Happy Hawkins. The
peculiar expression had wore off Jabez' face, an' his eyes had a glad
glint in 'em. I was only in for my table stakes, so I didn't make much
of a noise, nohow; but the other three kept boostin' her up till it
begun to look like a man's game all right.
"If you'll excuse the limit, I'd like to show my appreciation of this
little hand by bettin' a hundred on it," sez Piker.
"I'm willin'," sez Jabez, "an' if it goes, why, I'll see your
appreciation an' raise you five hundred."
"I don't have any more vote," sez I, "just enjoy yourselves."
"Oh, no, Happy," sez Dick, as serious as a hangman; "no matter if we
raise the edge every hand, you must vote on it each time. We must be
perfectly regular, you know, because this is merely a friendly little
game to pass away the evening, you remember. I shall make no
objections."
Jabez had slid deep into his chair, an' now he had a fierce scowl on
his face. "That was MY toe you was a-pressin'," he sez, lookin' Piker
between the eyes.
"I beg your pardon," sez Piker, laughin' easy; "I thought it was
Silv--I mean Whittington's. I wanted him to keep still until after this
hand was out. Then I'll be willin' to quit or go back to the old limit,
or keep right along with the lid off."
I glanced at Dick; an' talk about jerk-lightnin'! Well, I can't see yet
what kept Piker from gettin' scorched; but Jabez was in a good humor
again from lookin' at his royalty, so he turns to Dick an' sez, "Now,
Dick, Piker's company, you know, an' I reckon we'd better humor him.
What do you say?"
"Off goes the lid," sez Dick.
They bet around awhile longer until nearly all of Dick's money was in
the pot an' Jabez had a neat little pile of checks representin' him.
Then Dick bet his balance an' called. We all laid down with a satisfied
grin. Jabez had queens full on jacks, Piker had three bullets an' a
team o' ten-spots; Dick had a royal straight flush, an' I had a nervous
chill. Three aristocratic fulls an' a royal straight! Nobody spoke, an'
the money stayed where it was, in the center of the table. Finally the
of man sez, makin' an effort to speak cordial, "Well, I've had enough
for one evenin', I guess I'll quit."
"Now, boys," sez Dick, in a low, husky voice, "I don't believe in
gamblin'. I only went into this to be sociable, an' I want you all to
take your money back."
We sat an' looked at Dick with our eyes poppin' out, 'cause that wasn't
our way o' playin' the game in that neighborhood. Suddenly the ol' man
whirled an' glared at Piker. "What the hell do you mean by pressin' my
toe?" he growls between his set teeth. "This is the fourth time you've
done it to-night."
Piker seemed confused, an' mumbled an' stammered, an' couldn't hardly
speak at all. "It ain't my custom to play with strangers," sez Jabez,
an' he was fast gettin' into the dangerous stage, "but you are my
guest. I won't take my money back, but if Dick is willin', I'll write
him a check for yours an' you can take your condemned filthy gold an'
get out o' here."
"I ain't askin' my money back," sez Piker. "I'm game, I am; but I can't
savvy this scheme o' dividin' up after the game." He paused a second,
an' then sez clear an' distinct, "This ain't exactly the way 'at Silver
Dick used to play the game when he made a business of it."
Piker leaned back an' stared at Dick in a sneerin' sort of way; while
me an' the ol' man stared at him with our eyes poppin' out. Silver
Dick, Silver Dick: every one in the West had heard of Silver Dick. It
didn't seem possible; but as me an' Jabez sat gazin' at him, we knew
'at our Dick was Silver Dick the gambler, an' the smoothest article,
accordin' to reports, 'at ever threw a card. Dick didn't say a word;
just sat there with his face pale as a sheet, an' his glitterin' black
eyes dartin' flame at Piker's nasty grin.
"I see you don't recognize me with a full beard," sez Piker; "but down
at Laramie they called me Jo Denton. It was my cousin, Big Brown, that
you shot."
"Do you happen to know what I shot him for?" Dick's face was as hard as
marble, an' his voice was as cold as ice.
"I wasn't there at the time," sez Piker in an irritatin' voice, "but I
know that it was because he spoke about it bein' a little peculiar that
you held such wonderful good hands on your own deal."
Dick didn't make no reply, but he slipped his hand inside his shirt,
an' I knew he had his gun there.
"I say that this was the EXCUSE for your shootin';" Piker went on, bent
on gettin' all the trouble the' was; "but I allus believed, myself,
that it started over the woman you was keepin'."
Dick's gun flashed in the air; but quick as a wink ol' Cast Steel
knocked it up with his right hand, an' struck at Dick with his left.
The bullet crashed through the ceiling, an' Dick grabbed Jabez' wrist
at the same instant. Piker made a quick snap under the table, a gun
went off, an' the bullet tore through the slack o' Dick's vest an'
spinged into the wall behind him.
Then I kicked off my hobbles an' sailed in on my own hook. Dick had
allus been white to me--an' back in the old days he was the squarest
feller on earth--so I felt mightly relieved when I caught Piker in the
center of the forehead with a full left swing. It was a blow 'at nobody
didn't have no grounds to complain of. The chair flew over backwards,
Piker's feet made a lovely circle, an' his head tried to insinuate
itself into the mopboard. He remained quiet, an' I started in to
satisfy my curiosity.
"Stay where you are," commanded Dick, an' I stuck in my tracks. "No man
is allowed to doubt my deal without havin' something to remind him of
it. I ain't a-goin' to kill that snake now; but I do intend to remove
his trigger fingers."
Dick still held Jabez by a peculiar twist in the wrist 'at made the ol'
man wince a little; he held his gun ready, an' calmly sized up Piker's
hand, which was flattened out again the wall. I stood where I was, an'
the room was so quiet it hurt your ears.
A grin of wolfish joy came into Dick's face as he stood there with his
gun back of his head an' his thumb on the hammer--of course he was a
snap-shooter--these nervous fellers allus are. It seemed as if we had
all been in that same position for ages, when suddenly a voice said,
"Why, Dad, what's the matter?"
It was Barbie with her hair all rumpled up an' a loose gray wrapper on.
Dick dropped his hands to his side an' turned his face away; while
Jabez put his arm about her an' told her that we had had a little
mix-up but that it was all over now an' she must go back to bed. She
reared up an' vetoed the motion without parley; but the ol' man finally
convinced her, an' she agreed to go if we'd promise not to stir up any
more trouble. Me an' Jabez promised quick, but Dick never said a word.
She looked him in the face mighty beseechful, but he wouldn't look at
her; an' when he finally promised not to START any more fuss his voice
was so low you could hardly hear him.
She was pale as a ghost, an' Dick's voice made her all the more
suspicious. "I'll not go one step," she said at last, sinkin' down in a
chair; but Dick walked over to her an' asked her to step into the next
room with him a minute. They only talked together a few moments, an'
then we heard her give a stifled sob an' go back upstairs. I never see
such a change as had come over Jabez. His face was drawn an' haggard
like the face of a man lost in the desert without water.
The time had come at last when another man stood between his
daughter--his greatest treasure on earth--an' himself. I remembered
what Friar Tuck had said about the time comin' when she'd be all girl
an' would stand before him with the questions of life in her eyes, an'
I pitied him, God knows I pitied him.