"There was this feller b-bucking the t-tiger in the P-Pink Lady.
He called me over real polite and orderly and said the dealer was
double-dealing and that he could prove it by the case board. Before
you could say J-J-Jack R-R-Robinson, Pinky had him by one arm and a
barkeep had him by the other and he was out in the s-street. Nobody
paid any at-t-tention to me. I told Madrid about it. He cussed me and
said we leave the dealers alone."
"Which table was this?"
"S-second from the d-door. The d-dealer's name's Cardona."
Tesno stropped his razor vigorously. "A mechanic. He uses an odd-even
setup."
"A what?"
"I'll demonstrate," Tesno said. He waved the razor toward the
saddlebags that hung over the foot of his bed. "There's a pack of
cards in there. Get it and separate the odd cards from the even. This
afternoon we'll call on Mr. Cardona."
"What we g-g-going to do?"
"Not we, _you_. I'll show you the trick. Then you'll expose Cardona and
run him out of town. In order to pull it off you're going to have to be
well rehearsed. Got anything to do for an hour?"
"Not till three this afternoon. I'm on d-duty from then till eight in
the morning."
By the time Tesno finished shaving, Willie had the cards separated.
Tesno squared up the two packets and pressed their ends together,
interlacing the cards evenly.
"You shuffle like a dealer," Willie said.
"Not quite so well. A good mechanic can get a perfect dovetail. That
means the odd and even cards will alternate all the way through the
deck...."
* * * * *
As it turned out, the marshal was among the players at Cardona's table
when Tesno entered the saloon. Pinky Bronklin gave Tesno an evil look
and sent the other barkeep to wait on him. Tesno ordered a cigar and
stood smoking it with his back to the bar, watching the game.
Madrid was standing behind the seated players. He was wearing the pink
shirt and a black bow tie. After a few turns, he won a bet on the
queen and placed another on the four. When this also came up a winner,
he played the ten.
He was playing only even cards, and Cardona was letting him win. It
seemed plain that he was onto the grift and was collecting a payoff.
_This is going to be interesting_, Tesno thought grimly.
The marshal collected another bet, cashed his checks, and dropped his
winnings into his pocket. He saw Tesno, nodded, and after an instant of
hesitation came over and joined him.
"Quitting while you're ahead?" Tesno said.
"A man can beat the game sometimes if he isn't greedy," Madrid said. He
signaled the barkeep. "How about the house buying a couple, cowboy?"
"Not for me," Tesno said.
The barkeep slid Madrid a bottle and glass, saying nothing. The marshal
muttered an obscenity about the man's surliness and poured himself a
drink.
Whisky Willie came in then. He walked straight to Cardona's table and
drew himself up importantly.
"Th-th-this is a c-crooked g-g-gug-game," he announced. He had a
terrible time getting the words out, and Tesno winced for him. The
players looked amused and then startled. Cardona, a little bald man
with a handlebar mustache, stood up. Willie went on doggedly, "I'm
c-c-closing it d-down. P-pick up your b-b-buhuh-bets."
"What the devil does he think he's doing?" Madrid said.
He slammed his glass on the bar and started for the table. Tesno
restrained him firmly with a hand on his shoulder. "Let's see what's on
the kid's mind," he said.
Cardona was speaking to Willie, his tone jocular. "You better take a
swig of that word medicine you carry and calm down."
Willie slapped the layout with his palm. "R-right n-now! This g-game is
closed, Cardona. And you'll be out of town in t-twenty-four hours or
you'll be in j-jail. P-pick up your b-b-bets, men."
"Hold it!" Madrid said, striding forward now. "This is an honest game,
kid. I told you that the other night. Now for--"
"The g-game is crooked!" Willie said. "I can prove it."
Cardona moved toward the card box, but Willie beat him to it and
slapped his hand over it. Madrid caught Willie's arm and tried to pull
him away, but Willie shook him off. Customers from other parts of the
saloon moved in to see the show. Madrid swore violently.
"Get out of here, kid! Clean out of the place," he said.
He stood with his jaw thrust forward, his pink-striped elbow bent as
his hand gripped the handle of his pistol. Tesno was suddenly close
behind him with one hand on Madrid's shoulder and the other on the
wrist of his gun hand.
"Let the kid make his play," Tesno said. His grip tightened as the
marshal started to pull away. "Go ahead, Willie."
"The cards in this deck alt-t-ter-n-nate odd and even," Willie
announced. He slid the top card out of the box and turned it face up.
It was an eight.
"The n-next will be odd." Willie turned a three. "The n-next,
even ... the next, odd." He turned a four and a jack. He went on,
calling another half dozen cards correctly.
The spectators stared in fascination, muttering ugly, barely audible
phrases. Tesno released Madrid. The marshal had no choice now but to
watch quietly as if he were as surprised as everyone else.
"This is a frame up!" Cardona asserted. "Somebody planted that deck!"
"You put it in the box your own self," a spectator snarled.
"You can s-see how it works," Willie continued. "If most of the money
happens to be on odd cards, the even ones c-come up winners. The dealer
can ch-change this any time he wants by d-double-d-dealing."
Willie brought a card out of the box and showed that it was a king.
Squeezing it between his thumb and finger, he slid a deuce out from
behind it. He dropped the cards on the table.
"Twenty-four hours," he said to Cardona.
"Marshal," Cardona said, appealing to Madrid, "I swear this is a trick.
You know I've always run an honest game. You--"
"You do like he says," Madrid said. "Get out of town."
One of the players suddenly dived over the table and crashed into
Cardona, falling to the floor with him. Madrid drew his gun and ran
around the table. Another player grabbed the cash box, dumped its
contents on the table and tried to preside over a fair distribution of
the money to Cardona's victims; but it was scramble and grab. The money
was gone by the time Pinky Bronklin got there, striking out in all
directions with a beer bottle.
Tesno pulled Willie out of the melee as the table collapsed, Pinky
Bronklin being among those who went down with it. Madrid had gotten
Cardona to one side and was standing in front of him, gun in hand. He
fired into the ceiling.
"Break it up!" he kept bellowing. "Break it up!"
Men began to hurry out of the saloon now, some with their hands full of
money. Several stopped to slap Willie on the back on the way.
"I'm for firin' the marshal and givin' you the job!" one said.
The last man on his feet was Pinky Bronklin. His nose was bleeding, and
he clutched his apron to it. He started for a small stairway at the
back of the saloon, then he saw Tesno and came close.
"You set this up," he said, lowering the apron from his blood-smeared
face. "I know you. I know you, Tesno."
Tesno threw back his head and laughed. He clapped Pinky on the shoulder
and spun him toward the stairway. "I'll make an honest man of you yet,
Pinky," he said.
Cardona followed Pinky up the stairs. Madrid holstered his gun and came
over. He was grinning, but his black eyes held Tesno's coldly. "I'll
take it from here. My job."
Tesno matched the marshal's grin. He touched Willie's arm and they
walked out of the saloon. Willie reached for the lemon soda.
"Whew! You th-think he'll f-fire me?"
"No chance of it," Tesno said. "Everybody in town would know the
reason. He's got to pretend he thinks you did a good job."