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Show .STRANGER INTRODUCES HIS ! FATHER IN THE POKER GAME I ; ' ' ! ! Sheriff Joe Bassett Objects to Actions on Public, Highway and Recourse Is Had to Old Alan Greenlaw's Back Room. By DAVID A. CUETIS. T t HEN" the five gentlemen who had ' I D?en playing poker in the back I V y room cf old man Greenlaw's sa- " loon In Arkansas City came out together and announced that they had agreed to postpone the conclu- sion of the game until a sixth player j should arrive, he being expected on the ; next boat, the old man was much put 1 about. Ordinarily he had not the sllght-j sllght-j est trouble In finding words to express ' his sentiments in regard to any matter I that came up for consideration, but this I one was complex. As to four out of the five there was nothing in his mind that perplexed him, but th fifth was a stranger in town, and there had been things. Exception had been taken by Mr. Joe Bassett as sheriff to the behavior of the strd nger on the public highway, and though old man Greenlaw, as justice of the peace, had suspended sentence in the case, pending the issue of the game that was now also suspended, he was far from being satisfied as to his own judgment of the situation. First off, as he would have expres? ed it, the stranger undoubtedly toted a big wad, and was, therefore, entitled to consideration. con-sideration. Of that he had had ocular demonstration. Secondly, he was a free -spender and willing and ready to join in the poker game that was maintained as a regular function in the old man's back room, and was, therefore, to be classed, not only as a gent, but also as a sport. Higher claims than these to the old man's respect he could not have had. There Was a Limit. Irregular behavior on the part of a man like that was to be -condoned readily up to a certain point and, indeed, much had actually been condoned, but the old man seriously questioned whether that point had not been passed when the stranger proposed, as he had seriously proposed, to bring his side partner into the game, and play in cahoots with him against the combined forces of the home players. It was averred, and the old man did not question this, that the aide partner , toted an additional wad. This told strongly in favor of the proposition, but as against it stood the testimony of Mr. Owen Pepper, who had said that he did not know that the two partners were professional pro-fessional poker players, but that they played together against suckers on the boats regularly and successfully. Moreover, More-over, It appeared, still on the evidence of Mr. Pepper's statement, that the two were father and son, though Mr. Pepper was careful to say that he had no personal per-sonal knowledge as to that. Assuming, however, that the stranger's stran-ger's side partner was also his father, old man Greenlaw felt justified in entertaining entertain-ing the suspicion that was surely engendered en-gendered by a certain statement the stranger had made to the effect that his sire had been on his deathbed at some unspecified time in the past-Having past-Having revolved these things rapidly in his mind, the old man said: "Yo' all 'pears to be in the habit o' pressin' the limit c'nsid'able hard. Meb-be Meb-be it comes nachul fo' yo' to raise hell like yo' been doin' ever since yo' come to Arkansas City, but we uns can't be 'xpected fo'- to put up with it to no on-reas'nble on-reas'nble 'xtent. This yer's a law abidln' c'munity, an' strangers ain't never 'lowed fo' to go too fur. Licked and Arrested. I " 'Nstead o which yo' all Interferes with a officer o' the law when he's try In' to divert his mind, manhandlin' a nigger, nig-ger, him bein' mo' 'r less c'nfused with troubles of his own, an' aeekin' detraction. detrac-tion. "Yo pulls a gun on him, an' gits licked an' 'rested, Joe Bassett seein' his duty an' doin' it, like he al'ays does if he I ain't too drunk. He fetches yo' all to 1 co't. an' I treats yo' merciful. Mebbe I I didn't ought fo' to been 's easy s I was, l but I done give yo' all a chanct fo to j set in at a game into which yo' mought ' ha' blowed yo' wad easy an' hon'able, instead o' havin' it took often yo' fo' a ifine) what was comin' to yo fo' disorderly disor-derly conduck. "Mebbe I done wrong in that, but I done it fo the good o' the c'munity. : If I'd a fined yo' the money'd had to ; went into the town treasury and wouldn't a did nobody no good. But if yo'd a lose it In the game it'd a been a benefit to them what win it, anyway. But no. "Yo' all starts in fo' to interjuce skull-duggerv skull-duggerv into a friendly game, stackin' the "cyards like the viper what the Good Book says was nourished into Abraham's buzzum. An even then the boys was 'ndulgent. "They seen what yo was doin an' moueht a shot yo daid 'thouten they bein' nothin' thought of It, but once again yo' wad was yo' best friend. They done postponed 'xtreme measures till a'ter the game, not sayin' nothin'. "Then when Jim Blaisdell makes a triflin' mistake on his deal, givin out a cyard f'om the bottom o the deck, ab-sentminded ab-sentminded like, yo' all pulls a gun in plain sight o' the house rule ag'in shootin' on the premises, what's wrote up on the wall to p'vent party diddin's. Lied About His Pa. "But that ain't all," he continued sternlv. as the stranger started to reply to the indictment. "Nigh 'bout the wust thing vo' done was to lie 'bout yo pa. Yo' done said he was dyin' when yo' promised him yo wouldn't never set in at a game with strangers no mo'. An' he's the man what yo" all now p'poses fo" to fetch in fo to play with yo' in a gem-man's gem-man's game." "I reckoned he was ,dyin all right," said the stranger sullenly. "They was a vap shot him into a game, an' he laid senseless while. 1 was talkin' to him, but he come to later on. 'Pears the bullet glanced offen his haid." "Pity it hadn't went through." said the nM man with total lack of sympathy, "but that ain't got nothin' to do with yo' proposition prop-osition o" fetchin him into the game. 'Peary like that'll d'pend c'nsid'able on how much of a wad he totes." "Him an' me cashed in over 5-000 in the last game we played." said the stranger, "an' we done split even a'ter the ?;ame, like we al'ays does." "Well." said the old man, his eyes gleaming while he tried to assume a doubtful air. "under them circumstances mebbe it'll be wuth while fo' to stretch a p int. I don't never 'low nobody to play poker in mv house 'thouten I'm satisfied sat-isfied what he's a man o' good character, not as a en'l rule 1 don't, but if he's got $1000 I'm willin' to give him the benefit of a doubt. "They's one thing I'll call to yo' 'ten-tinn. 'ten-tinn. though," he continued. "I al'ays keeps a bungstarter handy, case of any skullduggery bein' did. an' they can't he none interjuced in this yer game if I gives my c'nsent to it s bein' played." Calls for a Round. "That's done been 'greed to a'roady," said the stronger with an air of relief. It seemed plain that he was content with momentarily avoiding a threatened difficulty, regardless of what might impend im-pend in the future, and he called for a round of drinks as joyously as if he had nothing on his mind. It was cUar enough to all present that friction mllu ensue after the arrival of the strangers' pa, but the predominant spirit that animatei them at the moment was on the carpe diem order, and joy was unrefined from that time till the stranger's stran-ger's pa appeared. The strain on Mr. Bassett had resulted in a sort of collapse, before that. For s-nrie days he had been striving conscleni tiously to cast off a burden of gloom that oppressed him by reason of the stagnated' i conditions of life In Arkansas Citv which ' always obtained in the ahsene of stran- 1 ?ers. As a riirr.ax of tins effort just be- ' fore th:s particular stranger came he had shot at the pipe Mr. Winterbotiom. was ; smoking, missed his aim and grazed old man Greenlaw's ear, there "v incurring I the contempt and anger of his friends, and I had gone out with the purpose of killing j some colored person by way of distraction, i How all tins led un to h'is bringing the stranger into the saloon has been told in -another story. ; With the aid of a few drinks he had ! rallied from the exhaustion thus brought 1 about and had participated in the festivities fes-tivities until even his great powers of endurance were overtaxed and he was sitting in a chair, comatose, when the stranger's pa came in. The closest observer ob-server would have been unable to see any sign of regret on the part of either the stranger or hi3 pa when thev saw this. It might have been thought, indeed, in-deed, that they were rather pleased than otherwise by ft. Mr. Bassett's ability as a fighting man was known throughout the Mississippi valley. Made No Objection. However that may have been. It was certain that the stranger expressed no dissatisfaction when the game was made up five handed, rlis pa was a wizened little chap, though spry in his movements, move-ments, and had little to say. He set 'em up on entering, as etiquette required, and joined the procession to the back room as if unafraid, and shortly the game was on. After having sold chips to the players, old man Greenlaw returned to the barroom bar-room and took his usual seat, near where his bungstarter stood. Mr. Pepper Pep-per sat on 'the other side of the room, and they smoked along together, listening listen-ing to Bassett while he slept. The game in the back room was Interesting In-teresting from the start; It may have been that mental reservations had been made by one and another when it had been agreed that there should be no attempt at chicanery wi playing, but no verbal objections had Tueen made. Even the stranger's pa declared himself him-self fully satisfied with the agreement. "I p'fers play in' thata way when It's understood," was the way he expressed it. though he looked a little nervous when it was explained to him that old man Greenlaw had proposed to take a hand in case of any infraction of the new rule. It being thus thoroughly understood that stacking the cards was not allowed, there was some cause for surprise in the number of notable hands that were held i from time to time. Thrice in the first half-hour a straight flush appeared in the j showdown, and each time the contesting hand consisted of four of a kind. Bungstarter Is Used. Not unnaturally the betting was high, ; but perhaps It might have been even higher if some lingering doubt had not appeared as to the reliance that was to be placed in the value of the cards when either the stranger or Mr. Blaisdell dealt them. No objection was made to 1 the deal by any one. They were both careful to afford no pretext for objection i to their work, but there was certainly a ! fishy look in the gaze of the stranger's i pa which seemed to betoken suspicion, and on the appearance of the third straight flush he spoke rather diffidently, it is true, but withal as one who wished to be clearly understood. I don t p tend to say what thoy s any-thin' any-thin' irreg'lar been did," he remarked, "but I ain't never been in the habit o" havin' fo' of a liyind beat, an' 1 don't like it." "Them that loses out," said Sam Pear-sail, Pear-sail, who had held the winning hand, "ain't gen'ly 'xpected fo' to 'njoy it a heltova lot. Question is, what's gwine to be did?" "Ain't nothin' gen'ly did if It happens onc't or twic'," replied the stranger's pa, "but mebbe they'll be somepin nex' time." It seemed unlikely that old man Greenlaw, Green-law, sitting in the next room, would overhear over-hear these remarks, spoken as they were in a conversational tone, so it was perhaps per-haps a mere coincidence that he arose when they were uttered, and taking his bungstarter In his good right hand stepped to the door and opened it . Simultaneously Sim-ultaneously the dove of peace left the place. Betting Runs High. The game went on. Blaisdell was dealing. deal-ing. His lips were tightly compressed. His movements were deliberate and exact. The betting began. On the first round the dealer passed out. Pearsall and Win-terbottom Win-terbottom raised each other several times, and the stranger and his pa trailed along doggedly until even Winterbottom seemed to be satisfied with the size of the pot and he, too, trailed. Then came the draw. Each of the others oth-ers put up all the chips and money he had. The cards were shown. Each had a straight flush. The stranger and his pa each had king high. Winterbottom and Pearsall each held a royal. No question was possible as to the disposition dis-position of the pot, but the stranger's pa seemed displeased. It has been said already that he was -spry, but he was not the only one who was. As he pulled his gun, starting up from his seat, he exclaimed, "That thar ain't human." Then old man Greenlaw swatted him 1 with tile bungstarter, not with excessive violence, but so firmly that he fell down. Not much remains to tell. More or less bustle accompanied the departure of the stranger and his pa from the saloon, but it was not sufficient to arouse Mr. Bassett. Bas-sett. He slumbered on for a considerable timo. but showed dissatisfaction when he afterward learned what had happened. "Yo'd ought fo' to woke me," he said. |