Show Won Brid Bilde by bw a t SS Girls Girl's Band StaKed StaRed on Rand Mand at ati game oi of cards Inch i I Jerry Blatchford and Dan Cooper Cooper are two of Tenn who were in love with Sally Thompson Thompson of the same town She was a. a a tremendous tremendous dous flirt and couldn't make up her mind between them compromised corn com promised by taking neither When Jerry took her hr to th the county fair fall last fall fail she had such a ago good d time that she came mighty ne near near r accept ing him on the way home home b but t she The next week Dan Dan t took ok her herto herto herto to the dance at Tollett rollett arid and ande he e looked locked so big hig and handsome and da danced ce 1 so much better than Jerry and the rest that she almost yielded to his proposal then and there Jerrys Jerry's brother had be been n killed In a arow arow arow row over a girl a few years year before ard and the incident had sobe sobered red him considerably considerably considerably consid consid- so he felt averse to settling the matter in that way Dan on the other hand and was vas too natured good-natured to shoot except as a last st resort and s so the matter matter mat mat- ter dragged along until last Tuesday night Jerry and Dan were over o at Sikes Sike's grocery in Pi Pikeville keville and got to drinkIng drinkIng drinking drink- drink Ing and playing cards Seated on upturned potato baskets with a box for a table table- and a sputtering sputter sputter- ing tallow candle stuck In the neck nek of a bottle for a light their reckless playIng playIng playing play- play Ing and betting soon drew around them theman an interested crowd such as one sees In ina a mountain town The players' players wild eyes and tense drawn faces as the stakes were won or lost boded ill III for forthe forthe forthe the winner At t last J Jerrys Jerry's rry's money was exhausted he having also staked and lost his watch and chain Straightening himself up and glaring at Dan Dan he he brought his fist down with such force upon the shaky box that candle and cards were scattered in all directions Ill bet the gal he be hissed if yer wins yer gits her if I win she's mine Dan was too much under the Influence of liquor to care and readily assented and they prepared to play the game of their lives Eph Dodge who lives across across the line linein linein in Baldwin county was one of the bystander by by- standers stander He was a stranger to Sally but t had seen her at a dance and re remembered remembered remembered re- re her pretty blue blueeyes eyes and graceful figure Slapping Dan on the back Eph lowe lowed d he ho ought t f be in the game too Whether it was the thought that if a stranger won her it wouldn't be so hard or cr whether it was the quantity of whisky whisk they had imbibed is hard to tell but they they- let lt him into the ga game e. e The cards were shuffled and the game gama began Utter silence prevailed among the group of ro rough gh men who were looking looking look look- ing on and on on n the faces faces- of the players was I a grim set look o of ot determination on their pallor enhanced by the flickering candle andie light t. t Luck seemed to favor favol Jerry at first but with each shuffle of the cards the two rivals rivals' fortune seemed to ebb until at last with a gleam agleam of triumph In his eyes eres Eph threw v his cards cards' on the box exclaiming I Ace king queen jack and ten She's mine The crowd drew back expecting that thata a a tight fight would follow but honor Is honor among these rough mountaineers and Sally as was Ephs Eph's by b right of conquest The two rivals shook hands across the 1 I shaky box and it was proposed that all allI j I three go and tell Sally gally j I So Jerry Dan and Eph set off on foot for old man Thompsons Thompson's cabin I Hello Sally said Jerry when she opened the door Ive brought ye a husband Jerry by this time was too too- far gone from drink to realize the ludicrous part parthe parthe parthe he was ws playing and Dan who brought up the rear sear was about as bad Eph was nearly sober Hed He'd never been brought thus face to face with matrimony before and the matter now now- loomed up so seriously close that he grew pale and trembled Old man Thompson who ho sat smoking his pipe in the corner gave the men a rather crusty greeting and nd relapsed I into reverie He had grown tired seeing seeing see see- ing his' his daughters daughter's s beaux and considered consid ered th them m mno no count anyway But gay flirtatious Sally was wide- wide eyed with nith amazement and looked from one to the other for explanation We We had a game gamer Sally Dan and I up at Sikes Sike's said Jerry said Jerry to see who'd git yer and Eph here who never seed you but on once e got into the game somehow somehow somehow some some- how and blast the luck he won So SoI I 11 low ow as long as as you ou couldn't decide twixt me and Dan thet you'll heto heto he heV to take Eph right said Dan I gives yer up now Theres There's no use buckin gin the ke Sally looked contemptuously from one oneto oneto oneto to the other I Iguess guess guess Ive I've to say bout who Ill I'll marry marry said she Neither one of ye Is Ls worth the powder to blow ye up and I wouldn't have nave ye if ye owned a forty-acre forty farm Ive re got sixty acres and a hoss boss and two cows said Eph seeing a chance to rouse rouge Sallys Sally's interest Much l of it clearing demanded Sall Sallys Sally's s father Ploughed moren half hatt of it last year yea 1 said Eph The old man looked interested and Sally w went nt into the pantry and returned returned re re- re- re turned with some whisky With the whisky Ephs Eph's conversational powers warmed up Hes He's considered a aright aright aright right smart talk talker r down there and when he gets started can can hold his own with the best of them They said id afterward that Eph talked so much that Dan went to sleep and when he woke wole up he wanted waned to know if Ep Eph and Sally W were re married y yet t. t Yer might do w said hr hf father Sally began egan tp relent and giggled at everything that Eph said Eph was big and handsome and then there was that sixty-acre sixty farm It was settled that night th that t she was to marry Eph The wedding took place last Sunday and arid Jerry and Dan were the first first- to kiss the bride |