“That’s not what I meant,” Chance said. “I’ve enjoyed playing against you, Mr. Haggarty, not because of who won or lost but because you’ve been good company.”
“Well, I’ve always said that gambling is too uncertain a way to make a living unless you really enjoy it, so I try to find pleasure in what I do.” Haggarty shrugged. “Admittedly, winning makes it more pleasant. So here’s what I’d like to do, young fella, if it’s all right with everyone else. Since I’m low on funds, I propose one more hand, you against me, and these other gentlemen will sit it out.”
Ace straightened from his casual attitude when he heard that. Anytime somebody at a poker table proposed something out of the ordinary, players had to be careful. Ace remembered that from Doc’s teachings, even though he wasn’t much of a poker player himself. A change in the game often meant an attempt to try something slick. Haggarty looked and sounded sincere, but that didn’t mean anything.
Chance’s eyes narrowed, indicating that he was suspicious, too. But with the confidence he felt in himself, it was no surprise that he said, “I’d be agreeable to that, as long as everyone else is.”
Haggarty looked around the table at the other four players and raised his eyebrows.
A couple men shrugged, one nodded, and the fourth man said, “It’s fine by me, as long as we can watch.”
“By all means, gentlemen.” Haggarty asked Chance, “Would you like a fresh deck?”
“This one’s been straight enough so far. I reckon it’ll stay that way.”
“Then I believe it’s your deal,” said Haggarty.
Chance gathered up the cards, shuffled, let Haggarty cut, and then said, “Five card draw.” He dealt without any wasted motions, then picked up his cards and studied them while Haggarty did likewise.
Ace was sitting where he could see his brother’s cards but no one else’s; it wouldn’t have been polite for him to sit anywhere else if he was going to watch the game. Somebody might have thought he was trying to tip off Chance to the other players’ hands.
Ace leaned his head a little to one side to get a better look at Chance’s cards. He kept his face expressionless, which wasn’t very hard to do. Chance didn’t have much except a pair of deuces. An ace was among the other cards, but it wasn’t any help with a six and an eight.
Haggarty pushed a sizable percentage of the money in front of him into the center of the table.
“Trying to run me off right from the start, eh?” said Chance.
“Not at all,” the older man replied. “I’m just not in a position to play it safe.”
“All right. I can match that.” Chance picked up some of the bills in his pile, riffled through them to make sure he had the right amount, and tossed them into the pot. “Cards?”
“One,” said Haggarty.
That provoked a reaction from the other men at the table. A couple of them leaned forward to watch more intently, while one man chuckled.
“I still think you’re bluffing,” Chance said. He dealt the single card Haggarty had requested. “Dealer’s taking three.”
Ace had thought his brother might keep the ace and throw in the other four cards, but Chance kept the twos. He picked up a queen, a ten . . . and a third two.
“Your bet,” he said calmly to Haggarty.
Ace was trying to figure the odds in his head—something he’d never been particularly good at. He reasoned that since Haggarty had taken only one card, he was trying to fill a straight, a flush, or a full house, any of which would beat Chance’s three deuces. There was also a chance that if he was trying for a full house, he had three of a kind already, and they had to be higher than what Chance held. Pushing the bet wouldn’t be all that reckless on Chance’s part, but Ace figured the odds were slightly against his brother.
Haggarty pushed more money into the pot, then added the rest of his stack, leaving the table in front of him empty.
“That’s a couple hundred to me,” said Chance.
“Two hundred and twenty-five, to be precise.”
Chance nodded. “Two twenty-five. But you’re all in, Mr. Haggarty. I can raise you right out of the game.”
“I hope you wouldn’t do that. You know, in the spirit of the game. Besides, I can give you a marker . . .”
Chance frowned. “My brother and I are getting off the boat at Fort Benton.”
“We’re all getting off the boat at Fort Benton. That’s the end of the line.”
“Yeah, but I’d just as soon not have any unresolved business hanging over our heads. It’s just simpler that way. No offense.”
“None taken,” Haggarty said easily. “I was hoping not to have to do this, but I have something else I can wager. I’m something of a collector, I suppose you could say, of beautiful objects. Specifically golden objects. Treasure from the Orient, for want of a better term.”
“You have some Oriental treasure you want to bet?” Chance sounded skeptical.
For the first time during the trip, Haggarty seemed a little irritated. “If you don’t believe me, you can force me to fold, but it’s not very sporting of you.”
Chance placed his cards facedown on the felt. “What’s this treasure of yours worth, anyway?”
“Well, it’s difficult to assign a value to something like that—”
“Yeah, I thought so.”
Haggarty was definitely angry, Ace thought.
The gambler snapped, “I’ve been offered two thousand dollars.”
One of the other men at the table let out a whistle. “Two grand is a lot of money.”
“Can you cover that much?” Haggarty asked Chance with an insolent edge in his voice.
Chance looked at the money on the table in front of him. “I don’t have that much with me, but I can cover it.”
“And I’ll be happy to take your marker, if it comes to that,” Haggarty said.
Ace’s hands tightened on the back of the chair he was straddling. If Chance folded, they would lose a chunk of money, sure, but they would have enough left for provisions and other supplies before they set out from Fort Benton.
On the other hand, if he called Haggarty and lost, it would wipe out most of their stake. They might have to look for jobs right away. That wasn’t an appealing prospect.
Ace cleared his throat, hoping that his brother would turn around and look at him, but Chance just sat there stiffly until Haggarty spoke.
“What’s it going to be, Jensen?”
“You’re betting this golden Oriental treasure of yours?”
“That’s right.”
“And it’s worth two thousand?”
“At a bare minimum,” Haggarty said. “But we’ll call it that for purposes of the bet.”
“All right,” Chance said. “I call.”
Ace tried not to grimace.
Chance laid down his cards and said, “Three deuces.”
Haggarty stared at the cards for a long couple of seconds, then a smile began to spread across his face. Ace’s heart sank.
“I honestly thought I had you beat,” Haggarty said as he placed his own cards on the felt. Ace stood up to see them better, then realized he was looking at two jacks and two nines.
Chance leaned back in his chair and blew out a relieved breath. “Sorry if that cleaned you out.”
“Part of the game, my boy, part of the game,” Haggarty assured him. He was trying to put up a brave front, but his eyes were bleak.
Chance gathered in the pot but left a twenty-dollar gold piece on the table. He nodded toward the double eagle and said, “I don’t believe in leaving any man busted, and I hope you’ll take that in the spirit it’s meant, Mr. Haggarty. One card player to another.”
“I will, and I’m obliged to you.” Haggarty picked up the coin. “If I could ask one more favor of you . . .”
“Sure.”
“We’ll be docking at Fort Benton in the morning. I’d like to turn over that bit of treasure to you then, if that’s all right. It has some sentimental val
ue to me. I’d like to keep it with me for one more night.”
When Chance frowned and hesitated, Haggarty continued quickly. “I give you my word I’m not trying to get out of the bet. Anyway, where could I go? We’re in the middle of the river, and I assure you, I don’t intend to slip overboard and swim ashore. I’ve heard too many stories about areas of quicksand along here to risk that.” He straightened his lapels. “Besides, it would ruin my jacket.”
“Well, all right,” Chance said. “My brother and I will come to your cabin first thing in the morning to collect.”
“I appreciate that, I really do.”
Ace said, “I don’t want to butt in, but I have a question. How big is this treasure of yours, Mr. Haggarty? Can we carry it on horseback?”
“Oh, yes, of course. That won’t be any problem. Did you think I was going to stick you with some huge statue of Buddha or something?”
“I don’t know this Buddha hombre,” Chance said.
“No, this object is small and delicate and very, very beautiful. I promise you, you’ll be pleased with it.”
“All right. We’ll see you in the morning.”
Haggarty stood up and nodded to the men at the table. “Gentlemen, it’s truly been a pleasure, despite the outcome. Perhaps we can play again sometime.” He left the salon.
Chance twisted around in his chair and looked at Ace, who knew what his brother was thinking. Despite what Haggarty had said about not running out on his debt, it might be a good idea to keep an eye on him.
He might decide that he would rather risk the river than accept being broke.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Ace reached the deck in time to see Haggarty let himself into one of the cabins near the boat’s bow. As far as he knew, all the cabins on the Missouri Belle were set up the same, with only one door and no windows.
So there was only one way in or out. Ace intended to watch that door all night if he had to. He walked along the deck until he was even with the door, then propped a hip against the railing and crossed his arms over his chest.
It would be a mite embarrassing if Haggarty came out and found him watching the cabin—but not as embarrassing as letting the man make fools of him and Chance.
The night passed slowly. Ace found his eyelids drooping more than once, but he managed to stay awake.
After several hours, Chance came along the deck, wearing his straw planter’s hat. “I’ll relieve you,” he told his brother. “I got some sleep, so I’ll be good for the rest of the night.”
“Are you sure?” Ace asked.
“Yeah, you go on. You won’t be far away if I need help.” That was true. Their cabin was on the same side of the boat, although down at the far end toward the stern.
“All right,” said Ace. “But you fetch me right away if there’s any trouble.”
“You’ve got my word on that,” promised Chance.
Ace went back to their cabin and took off his hat, boots, and gunbelt, but that was all he removed before he stretched out on the bunk. He wasn’t expecting trouble, but he wanted to be ready for it if it came.
He fell asleep quickly, and his slumber was deep and dreamless for a while. He didn’t know how much time had passed before shouts and the thud of running footsteps on the deck outside the cabin door jolted him awake.
Ace sat up quickly, yanked his boots on, and grabbed his Colt from the holster where his gunbelt hung over the back of a chair. Without taking the time to do anything else, he charged out of the cabin and turned toward the bow. His first priority was making sure that Chance was all right.
The sky over the river was pale gray, but to the east an arch of gold lit up the heavens, indicating that dawn wasn’t far off. Ace could see wreaths of smoke hanging around the boat, and some of the people rushing along the deck—a mixture of passengers and crew—shouted, “Fire!”
An out-of-control blaze was one of the most feared things on a riverboat. They had been known to burn right down to the waterline, forcing everyone onboard to swim for their lives. Ace didn’t see any flames, but he could certainly smell the smoke as he pushed his way through the panicky crowd to the spot where he had left his brother. Chance still stood there, looking around worriedly.
Ace gripped his arm and asked, “Are you all right?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. But I thought I caught a glimpse of Haggarty in this mob, and now I can’t see him anymore!”
“Don’t worry about Haggarty,” said Ace. “Where’s the fire?”
“I don’t know. I just started smelling smoke a few minutes ago, and so did everybody else. Blast it, he’d better not try to take advantage of this to run out with that treasure I won!”
Ace was more concerned with their safety and the safety of everyone else on the Missouri Belle, but he understood why Chance was upset. They would have to worry about that later, however. The most important thing was to find out just how bad the situation was. If the riverboat was in danger of burning or sinking, they would need to help as many people as possible reach the shore safely.
Ace grabbed one of the crew members hurrying past. “Where’s the fire?”
“Nobody knows,” the man replied with a frightened edge in his voice. “Smoke just started coming out of the ventilation shafts. It doesn’t seem to be coming from the engine room, though, so maybe the boilers won’t explode.”
Chance grunted. “That’d be good. Nobody’s seen any flames or knows where it started?”
The crewman shook his head.
Frowning, the Jensen brothers looked at each other. Something was suspicious. They had no reason to think that Jack Haggarty had anything to do with it, but on the other hand, if the gambler wanted to slip away from the boat, the uproar would provide a mighty nice distraction for him to do so.
“Let’s take a look in Haggarty’s cabin,” Ace said grimly.
“Just what I was thinking,” agreed Chance.
They went to the door and Ace rapped sharply on the panel. “Mr. Haggarty!”
There was no response, although it might have been difficult to hear with all the commotion on deck. However, Ace was pretty sure no one said anything in the cabin.
Chance slapped the door hard with his open palm. The crack sounded a little like a gunshot. He leaned close to the door and shouted, “Haggarty, if you’re in there, open up!”
Still nothing happened. Ace grasped the knob and tried it, but it wouldn’t turn. “Locked.”
“We can take care of that,” snapped Chance. He backed off slightly, raised his right foot, and drove the heel of his boot against the door beside the knob. With a splintering of wood, the catch tore out of the jamb and the door flew open.
A crew member passing by exclaimed, “Hey! You’re gonna have to pay for that!”
A gout of smoke rolled out of the cabin. Ace said, “The fire must be in there!”
The smoke kept them from seeing in. Ace snatched his broad-brimmed hat off his head and whipped it back and forth, shredding the gray cloud to a certain extent. It was also thinning because with the door open it had somewhere to go.
Ace thought Haggarty might be in there, possibly overcome by the smoke while he was sleeping. He pressed the hat over the lower half of his face, trapping a bit of breathable air inside it, then plunged into the cabin to see what he could find.
“Be careful, Ace!” his brother called after him.
Ace shoved his gun into the waistband of his trousers as he stumbled through the smoke. It stung his eyes and made them water, which blurred his vision. He saw flames leaping up in front of him, but they didn’t appear to be spreading. In fact, they seemed contained, which struck him as odd.
The next moment he understood as his foot bumped into something and made it scrape across the floor. He looked down and saw that the flames were burning in a metal bucket of the sort that was used to carry hot coals. Thick black smoke came from it.
Ace knew he couldn’t pick up the bucket, but he shoved it toward the door with his foot and call
ed to his brother. “Chance, we need a bucket of water!”
A minute later, one of the crewmen appeared with a wooden bucket full of muddy water dipped out of the river. He threw it onto whatever was burning in the metal bucket, which caused even more smoke to billow up for a moment. But then the air began to clear since the fire was out.
Men—including Chance and several members of the crew—crowded into the cabin. The lingering smoke made them cough and wipe their stinging eyes.
One of the crewmen looked into the bucket. “Looks like what’s left of a bunch of greasy rags! Somebody did this on purpose.”
“Whose cabin is this?” asked another of the crew.
“It belongs to a man named Haggarty,” said Chance. “Ace, did you see him in here?”
Ace shook his head. “Not a sign of him. Of course it was hard to see much of anything with all that smoke.”
“Well, it’s getting better now, and he’s still not here.” In a disgusted voice, Chance added, “He must have slipped out when everybody started running around on deck.”
Ace knew his brother was right. A ventilation shaft ran through all the cabins, and with this one’s position near the bow, the air moving through it had carried the smoke from the bucket to all the cabins farther astern. Haggarty must have known that the smoke would cause a panic, affording him a chance to escape.
It seemed like a lot of trouble to go to in order to avoid paying a debt, but maybe he was really attached to that treasure he owed to Chance.
With only a little smoke remaining in the air, Chance cleared his throat and said, “Let’s look for him.”
One of the crewmen said angrily, “If you find the man responsible for this, you’d better turn him over to the captain. He could have set the whole boat on fire. He deserves to be in jail!”
“After he gets a good beatin’!” added another member of the crew.
The Jensen boys couldn’t argue with that. They set off to search for Haggarty. Some of the crew spread out to look for the gambler as well.
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