Salt Lake Tribune | 1922-04-09 | Page 52

a ate No Dramatis Personae tory wa told .me by Shutter who dresses like e retired and used to deal faro Melee Kincaid when San An tonlo was wide open and the killings averaged one a night. He aaid It had some Kind of Interesting things in it. but he didn't see how I could make any use of It in ray trade, because it liari't have no dramatis personae. Shutter amplified this. Unless he was mistaken in which base I could correct him, but he knew he wasn't dramatis personae meant characters In a drama. A drama had to have a hero and a hero tne, and a villain and probably some comedians. Maybe you could get along without a hero ' or a heroine, but not without both of them, and the fact that there were two or three vFlams wouldnt make up for it. And in this yarn about the time June Kincaid helped her father go after Cole Gurnery'a roll the leading man was a fool cow puncher who drank too much and the only woman In the whole oast was a hell cat. and, dammit, ryou couldnt make the I kind f material - Into heroes and heroines, could you? He THIS i r left it to me, straight. While admitting the probability that hts point was well taken, I encouraged Shut ter to proceed with hie reminiscence. It Is not often or easily that he speaks of days, and when he does, although ha sometimes rambles and has queer ideas of what', are .the important and unimportant parta of his stories, his speech frequently dripa precious jewels of nt "Was this daughter of Kincaid a the I asked, to get him going hell cat? smoothiv. If I wasn't mistaken. It was. the sight of a bunch of pretty girls who hadjuot arrived there where we sat on the roof .had garden of the Hotel. Bonham that etarted him. There .were four of them, all somewhere all around twenty, aged ' dainty and vivacloua and bubbling over with youth. One of them In particular, brown-evea- brown-haire- d, maid, with a mischievous mouth and a delicious of akin was all that creamy coloring .her unartificlal own, especially held my In summer were frocks, eye. They filmy fresh from soma dinner party, perhaps, .and with a quartet of boys and a plump chaperon had come to dance. I had rushed a trifle over their attractiveness as they arrived, and Shutter had surveyed them in silence, fallen Into a reverie, and come out of it to eavi I never told you. did I. about how Nelse Kincaid planted three cards cold at ths bottom of the box and had his girt to em crooked 1. tip Cole Burley this came hie dissertation as to ths absence of value to a writing man of a story without hero or heroine. - Hell cat was right, he agreed, to my She was sure bad and she query. wasnt. You get me. dont you? One of those girl that raise hell with a man and always stop- - short of paying for it. There didnt anybody use this here word vamp In those days. If they had, that was June Kincaid- - She dfdnt have any mother and she didnt have anv principles to speak of, and her father was a bad hombre with a pair of hands that could do things to a deck of cards old Hermann the Card King never even dreamed of, and the luck never to get caught at it. Coid steel nerve, too. Would take a chance and puU a thing right under the noses of a whole houseful of gamblers that were wise to all the tricks and looking for them; wait till I tell you. But knowing when to take his medicine and call it a day;' youll see -- eircumatancea. is to be at least reckless and probably careless; Shutter made tt quite dear, without putting the matter into definite words that these games at which the girl kept track of the cards at they slid out of the deal box and her admirers wars encouraged to make their bets high, wide snd handsome, were not customarily crooked. He Implied that when he dealt they were never crooked. Sometimes luck would get to running seriously agsinst the house, Junes friend would begin to win and to bet still mors heavily, and old Nelee, up there in the lookout, would Shutter the signal to sav hla eyes dip were beginning to sohe and that ha would like to skip a deal or two, whereupon Nelae would bllmb down and relieve him. Luck was pretty likely to turn agalnet the plunging player eoon after. When he was broke, June would surrender the case rack to one of the professional casekeep-er- s laughingly assure the victim that his turn would surely come next time, and flit away with him to the end of the bar to Join him In a coneollng drink oir the houee, - . It waa g bov who went plumb broke, so that he oouldnt come back to play any more, who gave her the name. She and he had been chummy for more than a fortnight., eo that his pals had all been JealousriLnd he had got positively cocky about it. and then when his money was gob she let him down suddenly, due to another man in the offing that Nelee had picked to be- ,'his successor. r He came lit ons night and bought a drink or two and, piked .with, five, or tea dollars at the wheel, and went over to start ons of hts old Jovoua talks with her. snd found her as chilly as a January norther. Some of hla frlenda they were a remghish ,bunch gave hint the laugh, "A Jot I care!'' he cried defiantly, being - Lure of Gambling, Lore of the Old Texas, Love of Women, and Luck of-- a Cowboy unprofltable eyes at him aa- long as . . you're going to. June looked straight Into her lather a she face and saw ha meant It. and chin-up. squared her shoulders snd threw her We All right, she said shortly. pull the play tonight. What are the three cards? - Thats sense! cried Nelae. It will to be the first deal after Shutter eat. at twelve. The turn will be ace. one Ths littie card. some little king, and is Immaterial; It will be at the bottom. ace. They will come out ktng. And I tell him they are f.xed to come out ace, king. 'Right. You tell him to plav em ace. McCluskey bank to his credit waiting to be checked out. It was really a chance of a lifetime. A ranch, with a fair acreage under fence and some three thousand head of stock there and on the range, eas iv worth fifty thousand dollars, which could be had for thirty-fiv- e thousand perhaps thirty because old Sim Tarrant,a who owned it, had got bumped off in little ruckus about a wgterbole and hla widow wanted to clean' up and go back to her fo.ka In Illinois. But which had to be paid for absolutely in cash: old Mia Tarrant didn't want recollection or reminder of Texas ones she left It; Vendors lien notes, even at ten per cent, did not interest her at all. Kslse worked out a characteristic scheme of temptation. At this point in hit story, Shutter Snell, recounting the tale serosa the table while the orchestra jaased and the shuffle and swing of eliding feet heat rhythmically about the dsnee floor beside us. became somewhat vague tn several respects It was not clear, for example, how he, who never particlp ted tn ways that were dark. came to-- be taken Into hla employer e confidence, nor a he able" apto go Into any details regarding parently. the technique planned by. Nelse Kincaid whereby June should get Cole Gurney to risk hla bankroll on bar unsupported promise1 that she would see hedidn't take it Nelse saw how serious the lose, affair was getting with Cote, and sensed that the boy might even be thinking of asktng Juny f o marry- - him,- - snd thathe staged some mock quarrel with the girl, aa that aha could go to Cole far sympathy and seem to be At odds With her father, which would make plausible her confession. This confession Shutter did not know how tt was worded, or shat led up to It. of .course involved the 0I4 mans prob- - into the room, where he remained over bv the door. The quiet group at the faro game was picked out sharply by the wide shaded hanging lamp overhead. In that illumination, striking down across hla wavy hair. Cole Gurney looked more like Buck than ever. I bed to Interrupt Shutter at this point, with all the chance It necessitated of throwing him off h a stride with the real dramatics of the yarn presumably Impending. but he had not previously mentioned any person of the name of Buck. Hadn't he? thought he had. He had noticed the resemblance first time Cole Gurney ever came into Kincaid s. Just about the same size. Same kind of hair and eyea bam jolly sort of reckless laugh. About the same age. he waa. aa Buck tb last t'me Shutter saw him. when he left home up them In Kentucky to come to Tevaa. A powerful lot Shutter had aiwaja thought of Buck. Knd-o- f. wild, too, the boy waa. Mother, used to vron-a right smart about him. Sure. Of course. Younger brother? Tt ought he- weld no. - - - , June looked --up keeping presently and announced. ' Last turn! , rs He course. wont have . It all Heur In cash, of If he guarantees You know how I stand with It. Afterward, if be maker ar disturbance he thought it was how end tell T.l take hla check. v amy great- disturbance Hewon'trmak herer5 55 els . promised. .--"As to telling, Laugh at him. he'l be drunk, wont he? I don't think there U be any aeeae, -- e . By . Frank Davis wtth its swirling crowd. Its bright summer dreasea. Be laughter, and Its swiftbeating rhythm and rattle of avneopated harmony. There was a alight reminiscent etpile on hla lips; from my aide, as he turned. It seemed drowev and abeent. He waa looking far beyond the modern dance floor, across twenty-fiv- e years and mors of flying time, to a day when some men were honest and some were knaves in this old city that waa the countrys laat frontier. but moat men had courage. He vat there the gambling standing houee wall again, agalnat hla gaze Intent on the co K ncatd, the drunken boy, and the provoking, alluring, infatuating June. I had to call him back. "And Gurney didnt eeom to know how he wanted to bet, I prodded. He didn't to know what he wanted to do with them, or whether he wanted to do anyhlng with them. Shut-tresumed, turning to face me again. waited end- let him take hts ,Kiybody time; a plaver that was going to lay a bet that size waa entitled to think It over aa much- - aa he wanted to without (lent. There-wa- a anybody get ting noise enough m the background the click of the marbles at the wheels, loud talk- ae-.- ei -- -- - ' tbat.too.4 It became apparent, now, that Shut of matters ter Sneil was' otng.'to-"peasay regarding which, generally, he Is - to the least, noncommittal. He Is not accustomed to sdmtt that in the period when he was conscted with temples of chance he ever was concerned with any of ths tricks of his profession not recognised as legitimate; Indeed. I hsve many times heard him assert that it had been his principle never to be employed by any gambler who was not strictly on the level., Shutter has been reepectabls for more Chan twenty years, having possessed the foresight to buy' centrally located land in San Antonio, at a time when tt could be had for a song. and. as he once confidentially informed me. not such a darn musical song st that. Hs has intlmats friends among the beet people of - the older cattle set. Mot everyone among his acquaintances knows that in youth hs wais a gambler, and those who re told it are given to understand that he was a aquare gambler, which I invariably have found usually to mean qne who does not cheat unless the other fellow starts it. Thus this most admiring comment of his relative to ths dexterity of Nelap Kincaid was an unexpected admission. So she went vamping along, and getwith It, he said, and by and ting away come this Cole Gurney. by along Gently I reminded him that this was hardly ths place for a tale to begin. He hadn't told me how she vamped and why. June Kincaid, he went back to say, was something like eighteen or nineteen years old then, end as pretty as they made k -- -- them. And nobody had ever had much of her up exanything to do with bringing who had hla own Ideas cept old Nelse. as to how a pretty daughter should be helpftd to tho proprietor of a notorious gambling house. Nelse would have killed the man that wronged her In a minute, and he kept strict . track of her coming and goings snd saw to It that she kept straight, al- was no more, than .fair to say though It never showed any Inclination that she to be otherwise; but there ere morals snd morals,' and the kind June Kincaid had would have fitted those young ladles that sat on ths bench and combed their hair and sang songs that induced sailors, aocordlng to that old story, to steer their boats plumb on the rocks. Yes. thats the Word. C Siren.'""'-- ' " She never associated with the dance hall girls; In fact. It was seldom that the went on to the floor and danced rr unless there was irvlciim in tow. Her activities were in the gambling room and at the bar, when the crowd lined along It was not too rough, where she had a sort of private personal place at the end nearest the gambling room at which she held court, at you might y, and encouraging greeting her friends them to believe that this was the mgnt when luck would break their wav' at the tables. Especially favored friends she drank with, but a certain monotony distinguished her orders. Invariably she celled for a little-gin- , snd was served out of a special bottle with a third of a whisky glass of excellent spring water. On occasion she showed the effect of her potations mildlv; she had a most convincing cough that sometimes followed tossing the fiery stuff into her throat Young men off the range, known to "have quantity of cash on hand and to be careless with their savings when Illuminated, found her an affable person. Nelse selected them. After they had drunk freoly out of no bottle of innocuous spring water and her Ingenuous brown eys had worked havoc with (heir sense of values, tolling them over to one of the roulette wheels or up against aall.faro bank, whichIf. was really no their choice feat at Especially running totofaro, June offered as a spe-- c al favor bring them luck by keeping cases for a deal or two. Thsy played at Shutters bank, usually, because that was the ope behind whtoh Nelee Kincaid himself commonly sat high In the lookout chair, with a eharp eve on the whole room, but more especially on the play at that particular table, and also because stakes ordinarily ran higher at that table than elsewhere, snd the else of stakes Is often a contagious tiling, a boy with s roll In his pocket is unlikely to pike If the other payers In his game are betting freely. Especially unlikely if the prettiest girl in the southwest la s keeping-casefor the- game snd looking across at him with express! is eye. His tendency, under auch , ' -- ... eers-aona- lly yw,?iL Shutt1 ?r sandwich during hla himself a getting half hour lay-off period at midnight, not far from where Uiey stood at the bar. and heard him. A tot I care! Damn little hell cat' which showed how terribly much h did care, because It wasn't customary In ladies-nam- e;, rthoaa daya to ealt-yau- not even young ladles who assisted their fathers 4n the" profitable conduct of a if Nelse Kincaid had gambling house. heard him aay ft he might have come Cole Gurney was a big chap, about e or twenty-fou- r with blue eyea, a lot of thick years hair, and a manner, aome ways, thatwavy was even younger than his age. He had been working A year or .two for the Clrote Lasy D outfit, and somebody up north somewhere had 'died and left him ten or fifteen thousand dollars, and he was going to get him a bunch of cows of Ills own. That Is what brought him Into Ban Antonio. Before he had been in Nelse'a place three times Nelse knew all about the ten or fifteen thousand, and that he had it on deposit over In the McCluskey ' benk. The next evening June-l- et Gurney buy her a drink. It developed that the boy had a falling and a virtue. It was easy for him to drink too much. When he began to get under the influence he developed an amazing streakjcf stinginess Nelae Kincaid, no doubt. Hated theaa trails reversely. Weil organised, 'with seven or eight drinks disposed of. Gurneys Idea of financial recklessness was to buy one twenty-dollstack of chips at a roulttte table and put them all down at once, win or lose, and then quit. From the players standpoint. Shutter conceded tn telling this, there might be a lot of ways iesa Indicative of wisdom in bucking a grme where the percentage In favor of the houae Is as devastating as in roulette. Cole esteemed faro Xo toe lacking tn sufficiently brisk action, but he nlayed It occasionally. Especially when June offered to keep cases. He plaved chips, mostly, with perhaps five or ten on the turn, when the bank pays four for on If the player guesses the correct, order In which the., last three cards cams out of the. box. and limited ' his losses to fifty dollars or so. Nelse, with his mind on that tin or fifteen thousand over Jn ths MoCluskey bank, was plumb disgusted, . June never for a minute let it affect her work. Drunk or sober, plav high or play tow. ahe emtled her sweetest on eyea had Hiring on one of hia predecessors more convincingly, or more effectively.' If ever she owned a slave It waa Cole. He spent ail hla wvwitngr iit'th place.andwhen he couldn't bo with her and naturally she wasnt foolish enough to let any one customer monopolli her amllea he never left off looking at her. Hs got, one night, to talking big brother atuff. she told Nelse. when he Nothing asked her the next day what all the conhad been about. fidential conversation Nothing Except he eald I didnt .fit with the other girls In the place. Who the hell ever dares to say you do demanded Nelee. Hes got a nerve coupling you up with them. And gave me a dare, ahe said, laughing a little, but a laugh without any great amount of amusement tn It. "He aaid he kind of didnt like to see a nice young ladv drinking. Damn critical, ain't he? said- Nelse, grinning at the thought of the- special What waa gin bottle of spring water. . the dare? He said hrd swear off drinking, cold, if I would. Nelse was irritated, - but encouraged, too. "He might almost as well be a teetotaler, at that, he grumbled, ''the way he plays em up against hts chest when he's lit. Stick to him, June; well find to rqake him looeen, yet. But don't give him too meny chances to spout this confident's! atuff Little June can take June patted him. care of heraelf. daddy, she said Bet your life she can. he responded proudly. He had a tremendous admiration for the girt, had Nelae. And affection. too, In a way. Some warped in hia Ideas aa to how a Bather ought to bring up a daughter, to be cure, but what He waa what he waa. could you expect? and aha waa hla If he wgan't proud of hia business, ha wasnt aahamtd of rtf. and ha d.dn't know any reason why she should be It ess a week or eo after this that hs heard about bow - badly he had two or three times aa much capital aa laid over there In the twenty-thre- ar two-doll- , er never-beam- r2i ' V fvj It vos tha tight of a booy of pretty girls that atartad him. Ona of thorn in particular held my eye. old, ed r tiy Cole-Gnrp- 1 am t . Ity. and June's At times... when there though She ranher eye down thp.ujiAIaUrb4 in and laughing out. at. the bar., and the . hell hlab that wa a big game, a faro deck might be be'a been made a figuring monkey of. You II keep buttons on their little wiiea, likes Chi- - music from the dance hall but over In stacked, to affect the three cards out of hia wav afterward, natchully. but nese abacus, and called , the remaining our corner everything was stlU and sort pert'aily In the laat turn, and June might a If you and him ever ahoutd meet up and cards: of breathless , Then uumey looked up; he victim aa to how the cards were to tip ' come he should corner you aone, you- teh him was oale and hla face had lines in It, like Ace. trey, king. out, and t p him falsely. She was tq I threw 'em out different from what I Last turn, monotonously chanted he waa Just sensing that this waa moat Imply that her father wanted her to do said I was going to, or that you misunKincaid, following tha customary dealer a of hla fortune he waa planning to gamble thia, but that ahe would not. If Cola derstood the lay, or, if he ie drunk enough rout ne. and four for one if you call the on the turn of two cards. Ha aaked: wantedto gamble five or ten thousand tonight so you think maybe you can get order. What are they, again? dollars on one turn, ahe would under- away with It. that you told him to plav He sat back to await The f na) read Ace, trey, king, Kincaid told him. I take with Nelse to double-cros- s him and k ng. ace. and vou never was more justment of bets He stared a mtnuta at the painted ace would dpub'e-croI great shocked tn your life than when you saw Nelse himself.. said Gurney, with 'and k'ng on the layout, almost under hla mind, There waa aome sort of motif him lay the bet down d.fferent from what drunken solemnity, T great mind t make hands, the ace on hla right and the k nr as an excuse. Shutter said, revenge on hla left. Then he pushed hla Stack and also there you had aaid you a real bet. waa the ingenious use of an old rumor Go as far aa you like, Nelae told him onto the edge of the ace, tipping tt In the But Kincaid rolled himself s rigaret. Vilrection of the king. quite nonsensical which Cole doubtless I don't guess you'll ever see him in. our cheerfully. would have heard in the gossip of the place again, he concluded What do Playing aca. king. said Nelae, dearl1 believe place, that June wasnt Nelae a daughyou are right, father. June limit? y, for the benefit of al witnesses. deter. All in all, it was a plot that older agreed. Which Kincaid s reply was a little contemptuto have Set Nelse to Beta go aa they lay, don't they?' ought and wiser Infatuated men than Cole uur-ne- y thinklng.-Nta-dos- en times in her I f ous There would seem to the encircling manded the kid. all on edge and nervous. and bed ah cal ed hirri anything but daddy. might have succumbed to. chance small that players spectators Right, agreed Nelae Beta always go Then, just on the eve of it, JuneSo at about m dnight, just before it was an habitually modest player like Gurney aa they lay ' H a f hgera moved toward balked. u , hla would half hour time for Shutter to take want to stake anyth ng spec-tac- the deal box. 'Are we all set? ar A little bet that a plaver She said and again, if Shutter had nooff for lunch. June, who had talked long To you, he aadtha roof Ja off. had made on the nine to win the nine active part in theie-thingearnestly with him In a booth at theJ I do not uh- - and The side blue come Gnmev dance tolled to of the blue, out in the losing pile and hall, had Juat deretand how It came about that the consky. D'y-omean that?" Gurney ogled, Nelse. with th big play In hla mind, versation was In ha hearingJ-h- at Pole the faro table, laughinglya told theor case- - j two. jD'you meen it? had- failed to see the lonesome chip still was a nice kid and that it was a shame. keeper to go and smoke rigaret The higher you stack 'em the better lay where tt had been p.wced, and Jun a and took charge of the case rack. Nelse Kincaid tnereupon fared we served A feH upon it. had been I suppose. drinks Kincaid told still good like, it, him, he sneered, many eyea the , 'You overlooked a deeper, daddv,' ahe Idiot has been telling you that if youyoung was to the curta ned booth during their con- - smiling be seen waa to a and out bllla and little wad of it from the had influence of ivour vocation, plain said, and reached across the layout to Gurney got swsy daddy, hed be half inclined- to msrrv that Gurney waa more than ordlnartlv j surveyed them. There couldnt have been gather it in. Her body came between more a card d two than He ' seat at the h.gh hundred Nelae a eyes and Gurney's e.ack of chips, i dollars, got Jingled. you. I dont and in the two seconds while she waa Jld ot ,h table,- and bought his cue- - jbave to write a check. he aaid. He didnt aay half she retorted I thought eo . Weil,, there a two rea- - .ternary Ufty dol.ara worth of chips. Thus! a pose youd lake a cheek. leaning over, gathering In the little chip, h waj! directly to the left of. June, who "I would If you guarantee, on vour and settling back into her chair, the boy ona that 1 know of whv he shouldn't between him and the dealer. He j word, there'll be enough In the bank In reached to; ward, lightning He amplified, at her look of inauiry- fast, and One ia that he aint the marrvln l. . looked at her more than he did at the the mawn n to cover It !f you lose. moved his stack across to tha king, tip- e When1Tl-'outrsnhlm- was dowft t atMThklf threw hu tml the But If he was'. Id "He Pul toward ac. ft see he didnt smiling proVocai'h miy ping you get married, which won't be for manv ,hiard nd witbout Judgment. Ignoring- Gurney dug a bheck book out of hts aelf far back in hla chair, hla hands off i cards reckcase and taking a day yet, well pick more of a man than lh record of pocket and murmured something about a the table. less chances on splits. be la.' pen. announced Nelae. and Hera we Go get a oen and bottle of Ink. Nelae shoved oft thego, Im sort of curious to know Just how It calla for concentrated attention to top card. The ona beshe said and the buslnesa In hand for a case keeper commanded Ricardo Doyle, a yotld stop t daddy. was the king. HU eyea aarted to It neath attache of the place, who stood not the left, a hand already moving in that to make accurate record of all the cards something in the way she drawled it hen the man had direction to gather in Gurneys bet. and aome Inherited quality of hla own cold, 'as they leave the deal box, and June far behind Gurney. e ch when-Irat-eneertog-fgieehtm but .brought . U.J,ole spread bi check book narrowed into a tu as he readaed the 'was angered "looked--upbefore the him, made him reply, nastily: dipped pen, and looked chance and what it meant. d one d he benefit of iwhen she got the Kincaid a face. Suppose he waa that somebody .of her dazzling amllea and laughed fatu- - up Into "'that bet waa ace, klngAe .said I F s aa five as made. th much had a prior Hen thatt'pped if you married inv- - louslv In return. He lost hia fnty dollars Mhd wmiti? dollst bv was' all finished and deal Aome-the to It" h"TtliheJb6Faaiar,Juar before ought be yotriake aahard hought rights bodv else stopped smiling and hla face set and cold. another stack. During the Nelee amMlonleai Beta go aa they lay, ' She went white at the underlying aig- - following deal he bought again. Seldom, inscrutability behind waa sitting up straight now, hla He nificance and brutality had he ever been willing to j yblcb gambler hides hla thoughts when far wh.te, but hla eye looking aquar threat, theretofore, r afoot, Such a lie1 she choked. tone more than a hundred dollars at one j mh P.' nto Klncald'f: I d seen men sober up I know It was, would he? .'sitting. Ill fake whatever you guarantee in quick under strain, but never a quick It would fit in quite ptauaihl with the Now. aa to just when the deck waeith presence of these witnesses wilt be or as complete as he had. bar. and the dance hall, and the associ- fixed for the I am not clear, good in the rnawnln. he rep.led coldly. Let's see the next card. he demanded. ates that he wished vou wouldn't keep, because Shutterslaughter wasn't. He Implied that, But If I made It ten thousand? Nelse made a movement aa though he wouldn't it At that, would tt be so of course, tt waa done after K.ncald took leered the youth- with aktoholte persistwould reach forward and turn the box K I made tt ten thousand, and face much of a lie? Its B ble truth that anv charge, and I am Inclined to think it waa. ence. signifying that the house retime you get married, it will be to wmit-bod- v A any rate, the sleight of hand which she come out, four for one. I reckon I'd fused down, to go on wtth the deal then hesielse than him the curly headed placed a king an ace, and a trey at the bust the ol bank Deals ain't broken in the middle tated. fool! It would be bent,-bu- t bottom of the box, notwithstanding the last turn. And it would be th Itd lake more of June hit her lip and got control of her- ostentatious .rhuffi ng and cutting, capie than a forty thousand toting to plumb samethe aa confessing that ha knew what aelf, for ahe had an Intimate acquaint- at aome time during the comparaalive bust tt." Nelae assured Mm. next card waa going to be. The the ance with the old mens temper and confusion attendant upon the change of Damn 'if I dont!" cried Gumev, and chances in a aquare deal were slit! even dealers. scrawled the check "Gimme big chips. that tha next card would be the trev. I didnt know she skirl, elivwtv, that When a deal, came to Its end soon after Nelae picked up the paper and read Its You ah fled the bet after I began the "Ten thousand. .You turn, he said. you had anything against him per- twelve oclock. Shutter pushed back hts figures atound. sonal.' " I did not, aaid Gurney, Throw out green ejeohade. half turned In hla chair guarantee there will be enough In the he' growled: O, you didnt You toward where Nelae sat In the high look- mawnin fer cover ft? the next card. think I admired to have the smirking out seat, and remarked: Time to feed, Word of honor, mumbled Gurney. Meaning to cal) me a Har. Nelae Idiot tell you, in your own father's place, cap'n." Kincaid glanced In the direction Kincaid opened thq drew- - and dropped murmured, soft voiced and 'deadly, and that your own father wasn't man enough of the clock, nodded, and climbed down the check in. From a corner of hla chip Ms right hgnd began to move toward the to look out for you. to slide into the place Shutter vacated, rack he selected counters of a color and edge of the table where the holster hung. When did he At which Cole came to h's feet like a being careful, aa they alwavs were, not design used only on special Didn't he? Didn't he sav you oughtnt to disturb with hla knee the pistol that! He smoothly a.id them in frontoccasions, of g rat. kicking hla chair back and reachto be around her where these other girls them. "One thousand ing for a gun. suspended under the table edge, Itstner ten of are? Didn't he kick at your taking a butt handv for a sudden clutch. j apiece." he declared. O. don t shoot! cried Jun to Gurney, drink aa if I don't know whether you "Ita sure a alow night, he commented i Word rustled about tha 'room that big and threw heraelf across her father. This ought to drink or not? As If I aint com- good naturedly, aa he settled himself and plav was In rrogrepa 'at Kincaid's hank, knocked hia hand to one aide before tt looked about the table, whid the play- - land men who were mere spectators of the got to the pia'ol under the table, and at petent to 'tend to vou?" She opened her mouth aa If to contra- ers prepared to put down their Initial J games moved In that d rection hla chjr topped backward Shutter the dict or protest, Itnd closed It. Her lips beta "Here tt la tomorrow,, and nobody edged n fairly close, .so that he was and Impact hla knea ram up sharp agalnat tha set In a straight line. Then she began wins much and notoodv loeea much. Come against the wall pff at Kincaids right, awing nc holster, and I heard ths gun allp over again, sating: He meant well." the old man! Why don't somebody duerily taring Gumev. The boy. he aaid. out of It and go thumping to the floor. get ""Hell a with em! sat fingering the little sack of checks All during the plav, .ever since he Nelae atlng the houee good? paved 'Well, ilfea too short to use "G'mme flftv more, aaid Gurney, stiff half atupldlv. aa though now that he had brought the pen and Ink, this Ricardo snapped. it all up talking. , Do we pull the plav ga lipped Going to take you up on that. them he didn't know what to do with Dovle had been atandlng right back of set up. or dotl't we tonight Beeauae No chance to atlng the houae wtth only them. Gurnery. Now, when the boy waa reachone way or the other, this pup Gurney fifteen. And things - got to moving kind o ing back, to hia hip. the te go'ng to get sent about hia business. One thing come grabbed hla arm. Coe swung a short This won a thin, Impersonal smile from fast." Shutter sad. He can be chased back onto the rengejsome of the plavers. elxtv-flv- e dohare not after another so tt waa darned hard, d punch to hla Jaw. which landed 1lh which a hank of afterward, to recoiled bv the need of replenishing a busted roll being an amount Just how tt all glancing and dldn' t damage R'cardo of Kincaid's harpeued I don't suppose it waa mors n none, but it made him let go, and Gurand disappointment In love, or he can be the caliber and capacity chased back bv disappointment In love would be likely to suffer. The tsble fell four or five minutes from then until the ney got to hi pistol, swinging around to all by itself youre the ona to aay Into fhs tense quiet nees characteristic excitement waa ail over, but the (ime waa face Kincaid again. tVMereupon Ricardo, - But - one thing Ill ten you of faro-- and the deal proceeded which. behind htm now, whipped out r -- sure- - crowdedSnell grrtfe. turned hla head and Shutter So there waa where, of course. I had Shutter did not . get anv lunch, but lady. We aint running straight, young the house for our health You ve made swa'lowed a. hastv drink and came back looked out across ttf gay dancq fljor to get Into it. mv Nva be nr unarmed . -- , - . 1 ss 1 two-ddl- ar a, I - . i1 i hap-'fNiA- only-ecekp- , thou-bodv,- T flfty-doll- ar I of-ih- e t J Gur-hun- I half-bree- d left-han- -- , . In hot his voice waa rueful-an- d r apoio- -. getlc. Missed him by a plumb foot. 'And the bullet happens to get Ricardo aquare in the wrist of the hand that a holding the knife. So he'a out of it And. being flustered at missing thataway, I suppose. I fumble mv gun getting ready to shoot again, and befhre I can do It somebody-h- as my shooting arm. and Im out of it, , too. And there ia Gurney, with his back, up against the wall to the left of the r hank, twinging a gun eo tt cover Nelae.-an- d Nelse a assistants that are coming ' from one place and another, and whomever else tt may concern, and Nelse, who hag pushed June to one aid. :: Put hla hands up over hts head Juat aa he might If robber had got: tha drop ots hla houae. So tta a holdup. It It? he aay. 'All right. -- Come get what' in the drawer. tt no holdup. Mr, Kincaid, Col told him. These gentlemen are witnesses that I didnt make a move until after you had begun to reach under the table. J dont want what a ln tha drawer unless tt belongs to me. and 1 wont know whether It belonga to me or not until you throw out another card. All I want la to see whether tha ace or the trey la under that king i "So Nelae sfes, of course, that the la game played out. .Hes got to turn that r card or go out of buslnesa .in Kan N tonlo. He takes. hla eyes off Gumey and took a around at the player ana Dec-- 'la tors, alj rigid, waiting developments. Gentlemen, ne said. You know the , rule If thle man moved his tost after I began to turn, tha cards hla moneys mine. clean-looki- 4 ' . -- -- O and a player starting trouble, and I got out my gun as fast as I knew how and took a shot at Gurney. Shutter paused, wagging hla head regretfully. You shot Gumey! I exclaimed. T shot at Gurney." Shutter corrected me. "I never was more ashamed in my Jife. It wasn't more'n seven or eight yards, and I missed him." Again Shutter shook hia head, and thd , . i I M It he didn't hes got a t right have it lay where It is until what the next card ia I believed h shifted hia be-1 chips after I touched the box. I stlU eve so but men have been wrong. Mr. Apgate, he spoke to a man that had been looking on, not far from Gurney, did you see the play? Yea but this isn't my business, Apgate said. Kincaid nodded agreement with this I aura admired tha man a nerva. Ha had lost, and he knew he d loat. and here he was getting himself into a position to stand right with the crowd when the thing was over, as eool aa though the monev involved waa a Mexican dollar, Not unless both aides ask you to aettle It. he said. That right, of He looked about at tha crowd cours. h Tm told again. willing, everybody, to leave thl to Mr. Apgate. He a -aquare man; everybody knows It. Whatever a right ia right. If ha derides agalnat me the bet lays and we go on with the turn. He shifted hla eyes to Gumev. hi thumb, on th hammer of hi alert, atandlng there agalnat tha wall. Gurney knew Aprate. Everybody did. Thera wasn't an old cattleman In town had a better reputation for being absolutely on the level. . 111 leave tt to Mr. Apgate, tha boy Hell be doing me a agreed shortly. favor If ha will settle K, " We both ask you, aaid Kincaid. Doe Apgat apoke to th anv other man with a bet players down object? he aaked. I wont horn In on this unless everybody lnttreated wantsms to." "Two or thre apoke up and told him to go ahead and be tha umpire, and atmhlpg to fay jo tha SSJUJEMW viumey had finished moving hia bet Snd got hla hands clear before you touched the box, Apgate told Nelae. Nelee shrugged hla shoulders. The expression of hia face didnt change. Tou can put that pistol up. he aaid to Cole. The bet goea aa ahe lays, and we'll look at tha next card. With fingers that never trembled he slid the king out of the box, and tt sounded as though everybody in ,tht end of the joom let. nut a ,...,... sigh hed been holding back for five minutes aa they saw 'the ace lying underneath it. Tha turn come king. ace. exactly aa if nothing unusual had happened. He paid the arealler beta that won and gathered In the chipa that tost. Then out of the drewer he got Gurney's check and laid it beside hla stack of ten chips, which he picked ift. Tour to one; forty thousand dollar, ha said. He went down Inside hi shirt and brought out a package of bill, ten hundreds, fourteen f ve 1 hundred, and seven one thousand. 'Ftf- teen thousand, ha aaid, aa h counted them out in front of Gurney. No use digging into what ia in the various draw, am; It would only be chicken feed, and. anywav, we my need It for settling up with th others. I'll give you my check for twenty-fiv- e thousand. Ita on the McCluskey bank. , I guarantee youll find cash there to cover.it when you take it -5 there in the mawnin'. doubted he was Nobody speaking th truth, of courts If he didn't make good hia gambling houae data in south Texas would be over. Gurney took the check when Nelae had written it. tore up hts own. stuffed the fifteen thousand dollars tn bills into a pocket, and got ready id leave, all without apaking. June, all this time, had been standing beside her father, her face eooriesa, only her eye moving, shifting from one to the othei of the men aa thev apoke or acted. She looked down at Nelae, now, and h 4rtked back at her with that sneer of hi. Hla Hpa formed a word. Hel cat!' they eald. He nodded twice, very slightly, and added another: , Correct. She leaned over and apoka swiftly for hla ears alone: You made me do It. , .. "He nodded agreement with th's, 'too. 'Alt tight. he toid her. J know when la beat. Give htm my compliment and tell him he'a a damn good actor, . Will vou ba dropplng in?" " Ho you want me to? Why not? He half smiled,' sort of twitted I never renlged on taking medicine yet. You never thought I waa a ' and ha short sport, did you? Besides whispered something to her I eouldn I hear. It waa months I dont know but e I ever knew what it waa It made Jun almost laugh. Thats fair, nha aaid, and wtth the laugh In her to over Cole ha went where eyes stood bv the door, and they went out Of the room together, Shutter Snell lighted a fresh rigaret and sat back, hi gate roving tho roof garden. In a max of dancers tha girt I had especially noticed when ahe arrived wtth a party the girl with brown hair and eve and th giarveloua complexion and mischievous mouth cam whirling In th smbraca of art ardent loutli c!oe to our table, and her glance fell upon She gave him a daxsling amiie Shutter ahe cried, after , of recognition. "Hello, the friendiv fashion of an old and inti-mcomrade, and went spinning away. Shutter beamed afler her. Isnt ah pretty? he murmured. I agreed. A corker. Who la ahe?" "That's Mattie Lou Gurney Junes seen Haven't much of her at girt voucgi the last three, four year: shes been up east to college Her picture waa tn the paper laat Sunday. Ma be you ddn't see it; it ea on the society page. She's one I reckon of these her Cole and Mt Gumev mutt ba In town a Thev've ranch. from the got big city houae up on laurel Heights. Seen enough dancing? Suppoea weI drift along said, harking back "Walt a minute" "What waa It Nelaa Kincaid whispered to June that almost made her laugh? Shutter grinned "He smd- 'Besides Id likeof to borrow that roll about ten thousand dollars bank ta back from him tomorrow. The practically hroke. -- -- called-Kincai- 1 yeara--befor- at 4 - fCopvrlght, 1922. hy J. Frank Da'ts.)