"_Fair fellow, said Sir Ector, knowest thou not in this country any adventures that be here nigh hand? Sir, said the forester,... strike upon that basin with the butt of thy spear thrice, and soon after thou shalt hear new tidings, and else hast thou the fairest grace that many a year had ever knight that passed through this forest_.... _Then anon Sir Ector beat on the basin as he were wood_."
Chapter I
"_Ah, take the Cash, and let the Credit go_!"
Steve Thompson had sold his cattle. El Paso is (was) the Monte Carloof America. Therefore--The syllogism may he imperfectly stated, butthe conclusion is sound. Perhaps there is a premise suppressed oroverlooked somewhere.
Cash in hand, well fortified with paving material, Thompson descendedon the Gate City. At the expiration of thirty-six blameless hours heperceived that he was looking through a glass darkly, in the BusinessMan's Club, intently regarding a neatly-lettered placard whichambiguously advised all concerned in this wise:
IF DRINKING INTERFERES WITH YOUR BUSINESS, STOP IT.
A back-room door was opened. A burst of merriment smote across theloneliness. A head appeared. The tip of its nose quivered.
"Hey, old-timer! Will you walk into my parlor?" it jeered.
Steve walked over with dignity and firmly closed the door, closingit, through sheer inadvertence, from the inside. A shout of welcomegreeted him.
With one exception--the Transient--they were all old friends; theStockman, the Judge, alike darkly attractive; the supple-handedMerchant, with curly hair and nose; and the strong quiet figure of theEminent Person. A wight of high renown and national, this last, whohad attained to his present bad Eminence through superior longevity.As he was still in the prime of life, it should perhaps be explainedthat his longevity was purely comparative, as contrasted with that ofa number of gentlemen, eminent in the same line, who had been a trifledilatory at critical moments, to them final.
The Merchant, sometime Banker-by-night, as now, began evening upchip-stacks. "How much?" he queried. The Judge and the Eminent Personhitched along to make room between them.
"I'm not playing to-night," Steve began. He was cut short by a torrentof scoffing advice and information.
"Only one hundred to come in--all you got to get out."
"Another victim!"
"Bet 'em high and sleep in the streets!"
"Table stakes. Cuter goes for aces and flushes."
"Just give us what you can spare handy and go to bed. You'll savemoney and sleep."
"Straight flush the best hand."
"All ties go to the sweaters."
"A man and his money are soon parted!"
"You play the first hand for fun, and all the rest of the night to geteven!" Thus, and more also, the Five in hilarious chorus.
"Any man caught bluffing loses the pot," added the Eminent Person,gravely admonitory. "And a Lalla-Cooler can only be played once anight."
"Nary a play play I," said Steve aggrievedly. "I stole just one measlyhorse and every one's called me a horse-thief ever since. But I'veplayed poker, lo! these many years, and no one ever called me agambler once. The best I get is, 'Clear out, you blamed sucker. Comeback when you grow a new fleece!' and when I get home the wind moansdown the chimney, 'O-o-o-gh-h! wha-a-t have you do-o-one with yoursummer's w-a-A-a-ges!"
"Aw, sit down--you're delayin' the game," said the Stockman. TheBanker shoved over three stacks of patriotically assorted colors andmade a memorandum. The Five howled mockery and derision, the cardsdanced and beckoned luringly in the mellow lamplight, the Judge pulledhis coat-tail, the Major Premise tugged. Steve sat down, pulling hissombrero over his eyes.
"He that runneth after fools shall have property enough," he quotedinaccurately. "I'll have some of your black hides on the fence bymorning."
The cards running to him, it was not long before Steve doubled his"come-in" several times on quite ordinary hands, largely because hiscapital was so small that he could not be bluffed out. The betting wasfierce and furious. Steve, "on velvet," played brilliantly. But he wasin fast company--too fast for his modest means. The Transient seemedto have a bottomless purse. The Stockman had cattle on a thousandhills, the Merchant habitually sold goods at cost.
As for the Judge--his fine Italian hand was distinctly traceablein the frenzied replies to frenzied attacks upon certain frenziedfinancial transactions of his chief, a frenzied but by no meansverdant copper magnate, to whom he, the Judge, was Procureur-General,adviser legal and otherwise. The Judge took no thought for the morrow,unless his frequently expressed resolve not to go home till that datemay be so regarded.
The Eminent Person, a Republican for Revenue Only, had been awardeda remunerative Federal position as a tribute to his ambidextrousversatility in the life strenuous, and his known prowess as a"Stand-Patter."
Upon all these things Steve reflected. With caution, some caution,and again caution, a goodly sum might well be abstracted from thesereckless and capricious persons; provided always that he had money onthe table to play a good hand for what it was worth.
For long his luck held good. Having increased his gains manyfold, hewas (being quite a natural person) naturally incensed that they werenot more. Yielding to his half-formed resolve, he dug up his herdof cattle and put them on the table. "I am now prepared to grab oldOpportunity by the scalp-lock," he announced.
He played on with varying success. Presently, holding aces up, andbeing persistently crosslifted by the Eminent One and the Judge, aftera one-card draw all around, he became obsessed with the fixed ideathat they were both bluffing and afraid to show down. When thisdelusion was dispelled, he noted with chagrin that the spoils of Egypthad departed, taking with them some plenty of real money.
That was the turning-point. By midnight he was hoarse with repeating,parrot-wise, "That's good--give me another stack." His persistentlosses won him sympathy, even from these hardened plungers.
"Bad luck, old man--sure!" purred the consolatory Stockman, raking thepot. "I drawed out on you. Sometimes the cards run against a fellow along time, that way, and then turn right around and get worse."
"Don't you worry about me," retorted Steve. "You're liable to go hometalking to yourself, yet, if the cards break even."
In the early stages of the game Steve had been nervous and restlessfrom the fever in his blood. Now he was smiling, easy, serene, hismind working smoothly, like a well-oiled machine. Collecting all hisforces, counting the chances coolly, he played a steady, consistentgame.
The reckless plunging ceased so far as it was against him. The others,for most part, merely called his tentative bets with wary respect. Menof his type are never so formidable as in defeat. Things had come tosuch a pass that many good hands netted him little or nothing. Thencame a rally; his pile crept slowly up until he was nearly even.
With twenty dollars each in a jackpot, the Eminent Person dealing, theStockman modestly opened for two hundred. The Transient stayed, as didthe Merchant and the Judge, the latter mildly stating that he wouldlie low and let some one else play his hand. Steve stayed.
"Happy as the dealer in a big jackpot," warbled the Eminent Person."And now we will take an observation." He scrutinized his cards,contributed his quota, and raised for double the amount. "I'll justplay the Judge's hand for him," he remarked blandly. The Stockmancheerfully re-raised five hundred.
The Transient, momentarily low in funds, stayed for all he had beforehim. "I've got a show for this much," he said, pushing back the sidemoney. "_And_ a pretty good one. Bet your fool heads off! You've gotto beat a hectic flush to finger this pot!"
The Merchant laid down three sevens, of diamonds, spades and clubs."Any one got the seven of hearts?" he wondered. The Judge called.Steve, squeezing his hand carefully, drew out the seven of hearts,flashed it at the Merchant, replaced it, and stayed.
The Eminent Person, after due consideration, saw the five hundred andraised it to a thousand. "To dissuade you all from drawing out on me,"he explain
ed, stroking his mustache with deliberate care.
The Stockman called without comment. The Judge hesitated, sworeferociously, and finally called.
Steve squeezed his cards with both hands for a final corroborativeinspection, scratched his head and rolled his eye solemnly around thefestal board.
"Eleven hundred dollars of my good coin in there now, and here I sitbetween the devil and the deep, blue sea. One thousand bucks. Muchmoney. Ugh! One thousand days, each day of twenty-four golden hoursset with twenty near-diamond minutes! Well! I sure hate to give youfellows this good gold."
"Steve's got one of them things!" surmised the Stockman.
"A fellow _does_ hate to lay down a bobtail straight flush whenthere's such a chance for action if he fills," chimed in the Eminentdealer.
"It's face up, Steve. You'd just as well show us. My boy, you ought towear a mustache," said the Judge, critically. "Your lips get pale andgive you away when you try to screw your courage up. Of course,you've got a sweet, little, rosebud mouth; but you need a big, ox-hornmustache in this vocation."
"Don't show it, Steve," advised the Stockman. "I judge his Honor's gotone of them same things his black self. You might both fill--and youdon't want to let him see how high yours is."
"If I only don't fill the wrong way," said Steve. "Want to split thepot or save stakes with me, Judge?"
"That would be a foolish caper. If I fill--I mean," the Judgecorrected himself hastily--"I mean, I've got the money won now, unlessyou draw out, and that's a 52 to 1 shot."
"Me, too," said the dealer. "We both got it won. But I'll save out ahundred with you, Steve. That'll pay your bills and take you home."
"That'll be nine hundred to draw cards for a chance at nine thousandand action on what I got left. Faint heart never won a jackpot. Heregoes nothin'!" said Steve, pushing the money in. "One from the top,when you get to me. If I bet after the draw, you all needn't callunless you're a mind to."
"Got that side money and pot straight?" queried the dealer lightly."All right?" He stretched out a long left arm and flipped the cardsfrom the pack with a jerk of the wrist. "Cards and spades? (I'm pat,myself, of course.) Cards to you? None? Certainly. None to you, andone to you, one to you, none----"
Steve's card, spinning round as it came, turned over and lay face upon the table--the three of hearts. (Laymen will please recall that, asalready specified, a straight flush was, in this game, the Best.) Asthe dealer was sliding the next card off to replace it, Steve caughtthe thin glint of a red 8 on the corner.
With a motion inconceivably swift he was on his feet, his left handover the pack. "Hold on!" he cried. "Look at this!" He made a motionas if to spread out the four cards he had retained, checked himselfand glared, crouching.
"Sit down, Steve. Don't be a fool," said the Stockman. "You knowyou've no right to an exposed card, and you know he didn't go to doit."
Steve bunched his four cards carefully and laid them on the table,face down. "Certainly not. Oh, no! He didn't go to do it. But he didit, just the same," he said bitterly. "Now, look here! I don't thinkthere's anything wrong--not for a minute. Nothing worse'n dumb,idiotic thumb-hand-sidedness. I specially don't want no one else toget mixed up in this," with a glance at the Stockman. "So you and theJudge needn't feel called upon to act as seconds. But I'm vexed. I'mvexed just about nine thousand dollars' worth, likely much more, ifmy hand hadn't been tipped. _Mira_!" addressing the dealer, who satquietly holding the pack in his left hand, his right resting on thetable. "I've a right to _call_ for my card turned up, haven't I?"
"Sure thing," said the dealer equably.
"All right, then. One bad turn deserves another. But--plenty_cuidado!_ If any card but the eight of hearts turns up, protectyourself, or somebody's widow'll be in a position to collect lifeinsurance, and I ain't married! Turn her over." He leaned lightly onthe table with both hands. Their eyes met in a level gaze.
"Let her zip!" said the Eminent Person. Without hesitation he droppedthe card over. No slightest motion from either man, no relaxing ofthose interlocked eyes. A catching of breaths--
"The eight of hearts!" This in concert by the quartette ofundisinterested witnesses.
The two Principals looked down, then. That the Eminent Person's freehand had remained passive throughout bore eloquent testimony to nerveand integrity alike. Nevertheless, he now ran that hand slowly throughhis hair and wiped his forehead. "That was one long five seconds--mosta week, I guess. Did you ever see such a plumb dam-fool break in yourwhole life?" he said, appealingly, to the crowd.
"I guess," said Steve sagely, pushing the eight-spot in with his othercards--"I guess if you'd separated from a thousand big round dollarsto draw a card and then got it turned over, _you_ wouldn't have careda whoop if your left eye was out, either. It _is_ warm, ain't it?" Hesat down with a sigh of relief.
The Stockman bunched his cards idly and tapped the table with them.The Judge was casually examining the chandelier with interest andapproval. Presently, he looked down and around.
"Oh, thunder! What are you waiting for, Thompson? I pass, of course!"he said testily.
Steve shoved in his pile. "As I mentioned a while ago, you're notobliged to call this," he said demurely. "Just suit yourselves."
One card at a time, with thumb and forefinger, the Eminent Personturned over his hand with careful adjustment and alignment. After muchdelay, he symmetrically arranged an Ace-full, face up, and regarded itwith profound attention.
"That was a right good-looking hand, too--before the draw," heremarked at last, sweeping them into the discard.
"Ye-es," assented the Stockman, mildly dubious. "It might have takensecond money--maybe." He tossed in four deuces.
The Transient spread out a club flush. "Do you know?" he saidconfidentially--"do you know, I was actually glad to see that handwhen I first picked it up?"
"Won't you fellows _never_ learn to play poker?" said the Judgeseverely. "Why don't you stay out till you get something?" He laid hishand down. "Four tens and most five! The Curse of Scotland and FortyMiles of Railroad! _For_-ty miles, before the draw--and gone into thehands of a deceiver!"
"Oh!" Leaning over, Steve touched the ten of spades lightly. "So_that's_ why I couldn't fill my hand!" he remarked innocently.
"Get out!" snorted the Judge. "No use throwing good money after bad. Iwouldn't call you, not if I had five tens!"
He slammed in his hand. The Eminent Person thoughtfully took out thehundred he had saved. "Some one press the button, and I'll do therest," said Steve. He removed the side-money, placidly ignoring the"pot" of some fifteen hundred dollars, for which the Transient, havinghis money all in, was entitled to a showdown.
The Transient's jaw dropped in unaffected amazement. Dealer andStockman drummed their fingers on the table unconcernedly. And theJudge saw a great light.
"You, _Thompson_!" he roared. "Turn over that hand! I feel that youhave treated this Court with the greatest contemptibility!" He pawedthe discard with frantic haste, producing the seven of hearts.
"Why, you pink-cheeked, dewy-eyed catamaran! What----_have_ you got,anyway?"
"Why, Judge," said Steve earnestly, "I've got a strong case ofcircumstantial evidence." He turned over the eight of hearts; then,after a pause, the ace, king, queen and jack of spades; and resumedthe stacking of his chips. "I discarded that seven of hearts," hesaid, smiling at the Merchant.
A howl of joyous admiration went up; the Transient raked in the pot.
"The Crime of the Century!" bellowed the Judge. "I'm the victim of theAccomplished Fact! Cash my checks! I'm going to join the Ladies' Aid!"
"Aw, shut up," gasped the Transient. "No sleep till morn where youthand booty meetsh! Give ush 'nother deck!"
But Steve, having stacked his chips, folded the bills and put them inhis pocket.
"What's the matter with you, you old fool?" demanded the EminentPerson affectionately. "You can't quit now."
Steve rose, bowing to right and left, spreading his hand over hisheart. "Deeply
as I regret and, as I might say, deplore, to quit agood easy game," he declaimed, "I must now remove myself from yourbig midst. For a Lalla-Cooler can only be played once in one night.Besides, I've always heard that no man ever quit ahead of the game,and I'm going to prove the rule. I will never play another card, neverno more!"
"What--not in your whole life?" said the Stockman, chin on hand,raising his eyebrows at the last word.
"Oh--in my whole _life_!" admitted Steve. He drew a dollar from hispocket, balanced it on his thumb, and continued: "We will now invokethe arbitrament of chance to decide the destinies of nations. Heads, Iorder an assortment of vines and fig trees, go back to the Jornadoand become a cattle-king, I proceed to New-York-on-the-Hudson, by theEss-Pee at 3:15 this A.M. presently, and arouse that somnolent cityfrom its Rip Van Winkle."
The coin went spinning to the ceiling. "Tails!" said the Merchant,picking it up. "I must warn my friends on Wall Street, Hello! this isa bad dollar!"
"I'll keep it for a souvenir of the joyful occasion," said Steve."Just one more now, and we'll all go home!"
"Hold on, you abandoned profligate!" said the Judge. "You don't knowany one in the Big Burgh, do you? Thought not. Without there! Ho,varlet!" He thumped on the table, demanding writing materials. "I'llfix you out. Give you a letter to a firm of mining experts I'm intouch with."
After an interval devoted to refreshments, the Judge read with all thepride of authorship:
Messrs. Atwood, Strange & Atwood, 25 Broad Street, New York City.
_Gentlemen_:
This will introduce to you Mr. Stephen Thompson, of Dundee, NewMexico. You will kindly consider yourself _in loco parentis_ to him,charging same to my account.
On presentation of this letter, please pay Mr. Thompson's fine orgo his bail, as the case may be, furnish him with pocket-money and aticket home, and see him safely on the right train.
Should the matter be more serious, wire me at once. Periodicalinsanity can be readily proved. He has just recovered from a paroxysmat this writing. He is subject to these attacks whenever his wishesare crossed, having been raised a pet. Therefore, you will be doingyourself a great favor by acceding to any request he may make, howeverunreasonable it may seem. It is unlucky to oppose or thwart him;but he is amenable to kindness. Kindly apprize municipal and Federalauthorities for the preservation of public safety. Your loss is oureternal gain.
* * * * *
During the ensuing applause he signed this production. Steve pocketedit gravely. "Thank you," he said. "When I get down to husks I'll lookup my locoed parent."
"The Bird of Time," said the Transient vociferously, "hash but alittle way to flutter. Cash in! The bird ish on the wing! Tomorro'shtangle to the winds reshign. Come, all ye midnight roish-roishterers!A few more kindly cupsh for Auld Lang Shine. Then let ush eshcortthish highwayman to the gatesh of the city and cash him forth to outerdarknesh! Let ush shing!
_I stood on a flush at midnight_, _When my money was nearly gone_, _And two moonsh rosh over the city_ _Where there shouldn't have been but one_."
* * * * *
In Ohio, one of rough appearance, clad in a fire-new, ready-made suit,began to pervade Thompson's car; restlessly rushing from one side tothe other in conscientious effort to see all there was to be seen;finally taking to the vestibule as affording better conveniences forobservations. He was, however, not so absorbed in the scenery but thathe took sharp note of the cowboy's unsophisticated garb andguileless mien. Later, when Steve went into the smoker, he struckup acquaintance with him; initiated by the mere demand for a light,continued through community of interest, as both being evidentlynon-urban.
A voluble and open-hearted person, the stranger, displayingmuch specie during their not infrequent visits to the buffet forrefreshment of the jocund grape, where they vied with each other inliberality, and one who naively imparted his private history withoutreticence. A lumberman, who had risen from the ranks; a Non-Com. ofIndustry, so to speak, who, having made his pile, was now, impelled byfilial piety, revisiting his old New England Home.
This touching confidence so ingratiated the bluff and hearty son oftoil to the unsuspicious cowboy, that he, in turn, began, to oozeinformation at every pore. Steve Thompson was his name; miner ofButte, Montana. He had, after years of struggle and defeat, madea lucky strike. He had bonded his mine to New York parties--theCopper-bottom, just to the left of the High Line Trail from Anacondato Philipsburgh; receiving $10,000 down for a quarter interest, givingoption on two-thirds remainder for $50,000, if, after six months'development work, the mine justified its promise. It had proved allhis fancy painted it; he was on his way to the big town, to be paidthe balance on the sixteenth, at the office of--where is thatletter? Oh, yes, here it is--"Atwood, Strange & Atwood, 25 BroadSt."--retaining a one-fourth interest. He was going to see the sights.Possibly he would take a trip round the world.
Incited by judicious interest of his auditor, he prattled on and on,till the lumberman--(Dick Barton, the name of him)--was possessed withthe salient points of his past, present and future; embellished by aflood of detail and personal reminiscence. It is to be regretted thatthe main points were inaccurate and apocryphal, the collateral detailsgratuitous improvisations, introduced for the sake of local color.
"For," Steve reasoned, "evidently this party is a seeker afterknowledge; it is better to siphon than to be pumped. Doubtless it willbe as bread upon the waters."
Freely did he gush and freely buy--(the bulk of his money, in largebills, was safely wadded at the bottom of the six-shooter scabbardunder his arm, his .45 on guard--but his well-filled billbook was muchin evidence). So thoroughly charmed was Barton that he lamented loudand long that he and his new acquaintance might not have their firstview of the metropolis in company. But he had promised his agedparents to come to them directly, by way of Albany. However, he wasa day ahead of his schedule; neither of them had seen Niagara; ifThompson would excuse him, he would write his father, that the letterwould go on to herald the hour of his coming. Then they both would takeone day's lay-over at Buffalo, visiting the famous cataract entirely athis, Barton's, expense. Thence, exchanging addresses, on their respectiveways, to meet in Manhattan later. To which Thompson agreed withcordiality.
The letter Barton mailed at Buffalo was addressed:
J.F. MITCHELL
Binghamton
The Arlington N.Y.
The Desire of the Moth; and the Come On Page 7