| Show 1 I I THE NEMESIS N E M E S I S By JOHN G Author of The Lonesome Trail Frenchy Fr called for tor two cards carda and reached cached for a glass and the bottle His Hs head swam dizzily The clinking of ot glasses at the bar smote upon his Ills ears ers songs gongs He was about to risk isk upon one anI showdown the realization of or a five years dream He felt certain of ot that was the strange thing thins about It Yet somewhere In the buz buzzing buzzing buzzing zing back of ot his head a compelling little lit little tle tie devil whispered and obeyed He drank three big ones straight and for a n moment things stood still and the buzzing ceased but in the sudden sl si Jence lenee the hissing of ot the little devil In Increased increased creased to a roaring like the Hie rivers in inthe inthe inthe the June rise All on the deuces All Allon Allon Allon on the deuces Every last cent That Thatis Is what the little devil deU In the back of his head was howling now But if I 1 lose It t all alland and wanting to toBO togo togo go BO back home in the spring That was vas v as the question his pounding heart hurled at the insistent little devil You won once you you you howled back the little devil Jeeringly Five hundred said Frenchy quiet quietly ly I His bronze face tace had grown livid his black eyes narrowed and glittered M with Ith a steady stare With a hand that betrayed the least perceptible tremor he pushed the chips to the center The next man tossed his hand into the discards The next hesitated care carefully carefully carefully fully studying the face tace of Frenchy with witha a furtive lifting of oC the eyes under his hat brim he too ton laid down his hand Raise Rals you two hundred said the next with quiet cheerfulness Two hundred more said the next nonchalantly drumming a devils deUs tat tattoo tattoo tattoo too with his fingers on the table Frenchy now heard his hi own voice growing up out of the hollow Taken my five horses and outfit ire are are good for forit forit it iL Then he emerged from train the soundless hollow and was aware ware of ot the circle of ot glittering eyes e es staring down on the field fie d whereon he had just staked five years of at his life lite and his last cherished dream dr am Full house aces on queens Frenchy heard the words and grinned exultantly The little spiteful devil was silent Four kings Frenchy dropped his cards fase up and reached for tor the bottle Ho ho hoho hoho hoho ho went the little devil dancing all ail allover allover over his brain everything lost on the deuces dead horse horsa for tor the crows to pick he he he heA heA heA A ripple of exclamations ran about athe the circle of loungers as they leaned forward to see seethe the hand upon which Frenchy had staked all that he owned Deuces By B the Jumping four dirty dirt deuces Deuces 1 v Four of em Hows that for tor a bluff Fool play playA i iA A buzzing undertone of ot comment filled tilled the tle room and steadily grew into a chattering of ot crows about a spot where something has Just died Frenchy French seemed seamed not to hear he ho was busy bus fill filling fillIng filling ing and refilling glasses The man with w JUI the four Jour kings quietly raked in his win winnings winning ning And the horses he sug suggested suggested suggested Frenchy French set the drained glass down with a R bang and with a snakelike forward thrusting of ot the head leered t 7 J la lav v r 1 f wp i i f f Iv IvI v M I drew three deuces Deuces The fifth firth drew a long breath grinned nervously showing his teeth like a hungry wolf tossed his hand Into the discards It was now up to Frenchy French Pardon Parden me said he but did you ou call me His face tace had turned a dull ghastly green but his voice olce was quiet and c lear dear Raised it itOh ItOh ItOh Oh certainly said he ne smiling Thinking T of ot something else trip home I guess His voice lowered un until until until til it was almost inaudible This absentmindedness ab absentmindedness was unusual for Frenchy An oppressive silence had fallen in inthe Inthe inthe the barroom of the Big 6 There was no longer any clinking of or glasses or orhum orhum orhum hum of maudlin voices The loungers drew up In a hushed circle about the able and stared with fascinated eyes A big game was on and It was up to Frenchy French Frenchy was no quitter h he was a gambler to his fingertips Frenchy Hed bet on be the thelast thelast thelast last breath of at his dying mother That was the way wa the popular legend ran and the man lived Jived up to It Stake It all stake It all an n the the deuces the deuces The ittle devil In the back of his head was shrieking now and stamping heels heel Into brain But the trip home Ive planned five years urged his pounding heart You won on them once you you you reiterated c th the little devil Frenchy French quietly poured out another glass J and downed It Then he pulled oft off his boots produced a bunch of bills billstrom from the bottom of or each put on m his toots again and looked at his hand Come two thousand more he whis whispered tIered peredA A sound of ot deeper breathing grew up about the fascinated circle of ot onlookers I ers Frenchy had gone into his boots I I they knew what that meant Would the others stay Would they The place became uncanny with still stillness stillness ness ess Nothing moved In the room The circle of at eyes stared steadily upon the three thre who sat with expressionless faces blanched with the pitiless struggle that was going on For a minute that seemed i endless the soundless battle continued Psychic forces exchanged visible sword sord thrusts across the table Nerve wrestled with nerve nere that cow tred rd but still fought f on The whole scene vanished for tor Frenchy It seemed teemed to him that he was wash ho the h renter Inter of a silent hollowness only a i y v ke e that was rather an ache felt f it than a sound heard kept up a pitiless je ring ng The l stay sta stay shrieked tt tc t MtV littlE E tt a devil your bluff blutt wont ont work you youre re a dead horse hOre and the re crows oro rows ws crows ros weakening beat the heart of If Frenchy 1 Deuces ha ha Deuces And both pot face tace cards deuces ho ho hol holon gong Koni on home eh win on deuces ho hoho ho ha ho deuces The insistent devil deU laughed lau spitefully 4 Raise liaise you five fiva hundred more m re reThe The words echoed and reechoed In ml lonesome lont tome hollowness Frenchy stared at his cards Five Fht hundred more mora Fren Frenchy hy winced and shivered It seemed Emed to tn him that a R long knife had reached out of the silent hol JO that surrounded him and stabbed him twice tule In the breast Kt Ho ho ho went the little devil at atthe till the bark of ot his hla head Stay with em Put un the horses ng on the ho ho ho But T I can an lay down now no v and save the th horses urged the sick heart of Frenchy You won on the deuces deuce once shrieked I tho devil you ou you I Ii It Ii i t t i hideously at the winner Cant you ou shut up about the horses He forced the words menacingly through his shut teeth A hush fell Cell upon the loungers as they looked upon the pinched malignant face with the upper lip lifted quiver and the close set teeth showing beneath This was no longer the Frenchy of legend that Frenchy French had always been known as one who lost or won large sums with the utter nerve of ot a machine This was no longer the face tace of ot Frenchy French the gay ga careless haughty face fa e of him who flirted with Fortune This was a new 1 Frenchy French a n terrible Frenchy with a coiled colled snake nake lurking just behind each I glittering eyeball This face sent a ashler shiver through the crowd like the sight of ot an ugly knife unsheathed In anger The loungers with affected careless carelessness carelessness ness began to move away With a lightning sweep of his hands Frenchy drew his guns and banged them down violently on the table before him Stay where you are gentlemen he said Im going to talk and I 1 want an audience When Im done talking Im off orr on the long trail tran and the first firstman firstman firstman man that moves goes with me There had bad always been a winsome something In the toe voice olce of the man It was now new commanding Irresistible The loungers stood still and stared dum dumfounded founded upon this terrible new version of an old legend Frenchy picked up four tour cards from his hand and held them before his enforced listeners Look at em he shouted hoarsely Look at em Let em burn through your our hides Into your souls Oh you dont see any thing eh Dont one of you dare to i grin One hand fumbled tumbled nervously with Ith the guns What do you see I 1 say sa what do you see Four deuces all Ill tell you ou what I see I 1 see the red warm hearts of two friends I see s e dia diamonds diamonds diamonds monds that are cheap beside such hearts I r see a club cluba a black brutal treacherous club that struck down a friend And I 1 see the devils spades that that dug his grave what I 1 see Look hard Frenchy French seemed to exercise an un canny cann Influence over his hearers Not one moved all stared upon the four upheld deuces Its the devils story gentlemen he continued in a low husky husk voices voice Its hung by me for tor three bloody blood years It haunts me Ive riot got to tell it It He passed his free hand over his forehead beaded with sweat Then he whispered a question to the spellbound audience Did any of you know the Kid Kid Smith SmithA A momentary expression of infinite kindness ness softened the face of Frenchy only to give ghe way Immediately to deep quivering lines gf anguish He con tremulously I knew him the Kid Had the big gest bravest heart that ever beat In the godforsaken white spaces of a map One of that breed of fellows that the world nails to Its crosses the Kid was And we were friends that Is he was a friend He gave save and I 1 took and he was happier in the th giving than I 1 In the taking the way it always goes one gives and one takes and God pity the man that only takes Why did I bet on the deuces Oh Ob the dirty dirt deuces Dont I know the game same I know every card like a n kid knows his mothers face tace I l know it was the last ditch for tor me and no hope I tell you ou hi pea tell gentlemen I 1 d dl nt play ply em The devil played for me the black devil of at the dirty em deuces with the fiery feet that have been kicking me for three aching years l Look at the cards Look at cm em Theres blood on everyone of at em and they stink with the wrIthing flesh of ot a friend In the tl flames Frenchy took another drink and his manner changed The violence of his delirious outburst gave way to quiet quietness quietness quietness ness He spoke in a low penetrating voice and the black flame of his hi eyes e es held his hearers The Kid and I had been riding across a big stretch of o brown grass gras for two days and our tongues were w re thick with thirst I remember how he gave me the last drops of ot water we had with us cussing a man who got thirsty I Ican Ican Ican can go without water with the biggest camel that ever stuck a hoof in the sand said he And I 1 took the water I 1 always took and the Kid was always alwa s giving And along In the evening we struck a little water hole and camped cam ed How the Kid did drink when he thought I looking Oh he such a t camel for currying water with him It was his big heart that carried the wa water ter the sweet pure sparkling waters of friendship Along about sundown a dull gray graycloud gra graycloud cloud loud grew up in the west smoke But 1 the wind was against it blowing soft and dry dr from the east where the river I lay thirty miles mUes away awa Think wed bet better better better ter ride on says the Kid But I 1 was tired and an wanted sleep and the Kid I gave In Jn Says he Horses need a rest restI I guess lay la it onto me you know Giving again and I 1 taking I So we the horses and rolled in Do you know how a man sleeps after hes been burning dry do for days I and flits fills up at last 1 I plunged into ten I thousand fathoms of or soft gott soft oft sleep r deep deep deop down where whore the cool swee sweet t dreams bloom in world orld of crystal And Ant An everywhere in my sleep sl ep there were e bubbling springs and I 1 drank ami ant s drank and drank and every gulp was wa sweeter than the last l st Then the dreams changed and the c many bubbling water holes of sleep sleet went dry dd and fine hot dust sprayed up ui out of the chinks where the water ha had flowed Then Thon the wind of sleep grew hot an It scorched my fac face fl and sent thin needles of fire Into my m y brain And then I 1 was standing u up coughing and rubbing my eyes and the Kid was beside besie me What did we see seeThe seeThe seeThe The wind had veered about bout while whit we slept All hell heU was climbing c up th the e west and a blooming wind swept howl howling howlIng howling ing devils through the smoky twilight Above the unnatural dawn long l ng black blac k ragged arms reached out Into the zen zenith zenith zenith ith and cloaked the stars I heard a horse snorting and tugging at his lar lariat lat Good God Kid I 1 wheezed let lets s be off ocr I The Kid turned his face upon me nt e and smiled that slow brave smile smil ee e haunts me night and day da I Your horse Is gone He waved his hl s i hand toward the miles of ot dark that tha t I stretched toward the river Pulled his hi histake I stake Just before you woke wok up heard hear d him go The Kids voice even eve n tremble Quick I 1 yelled the matches Start a backfire Then a big cold hand gripped my mJ m heart the Kid had given me the last las match that day da I 1 had wanted to t o smoke All hell behind us s and a horse for tor fo r I two A thirtymile heat with the mus mustangs mug mus mustangs tangs of ot the devil and double weight weigh t to carry It made me sick dizzy sick sic k I 1 forgot everything Oh gentlemen ger when you face hellfire know If i i your mother bore a n coward For a minute we stared into th the e west westa nesta a minute years long Big pink pin k kf waves of smoke rolled into gulfs o of f purple and disappeared In holes hole o of f murk Above Aboe the surf sur 1 frothed and sparkled and fell ll In yellow v showers Great blankets of ot dense dens gloom dropped from the sky and am d smothered out the hellish morning hurling momentary night down th the e howling wind Then keen zigzag blades blade of fire ripped through the belly bell of the th e night I felt the Kids hand grasp mine min e Oh God the feel teel of his hand One On horse for two Frenchy he said quiet quid as a man who proposes another drink drin k at the th bar One of at us makes a run ru n for his hi life lire and the th other He mo carelessly toward hell One On more deal of oC the cards Frenchy and an d the last for one of us High h nd takes take s the horse low hand produce the deck d ck I 1 produced the deck greasy an and I for the social same gam e the Kid and I had played with em to gether We squatted on the prairie In the red twilight and the Kid Ild dealt Not a tremor of his perfect perte t gamblers hands Cool as though it was a game game of ot I drew three deuces Deuces Oh the damned dirty deuces How many says the Kid Id pleas pleasantly s antly antl For tho first time in try my life liCe I forgot to guard my hand hn d A deep de p roll ing in thunder had grown groan up out of ot the burning ruing west It seemed I could feel reel feel the prairie dell tremble like a bridge under a drove of or sheep Listen I gasped Its the critters coming said the Kid cattle and buff buffalo alp and elk and deer and wolves the whole posse How many cards did you call for two it itHe ItHe itHe He thrust two cards Into my hand One of or em was the deuce of hearts It only only the printed heart he ho gave me it was the warm red beating heart of a friend W Frenchy dropped his head bead into hIs hla arms on the table and groaned When he lifted |
