The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 18??-1882, 1881-10-07
THE GAMBLERS LAST
DEAL.

Beyond the balsam thicket the gam
bier made his stand. Carson, the de.
tective, was in full pursuit, and as he
burst through the balsams he found
himself within twenty feet of his an
tagonist. Both men stood for an in.
stant, each looking full at the other
Both were experts. Each one knew the
other.
you count said the gambler, cool.
ly.
'One, two,' said the detective, three.
Firep
One pistol sounded. The gamblers
had failed to explode!
you've won; you needn't deal again,
said the gambler. And he dropped,
The red stain on his shirt front showed
where he was hit.
There's some lint and bandage,
said the detective, and he flung small
package into the gamblers lap. Il hope
you won't die, Dick Raymond
oh, it was all fair, Carson said the
other carelessly. I've held a poor
hand from the start
The detective rushed on. Twenty
rods further he caught up with the
trapper, who was calmly recharging
his piece. On the edge of the ledge
above, the half-breed lay dead, the lips
drawn back from his teeth, and his
ugly countenance distorted with hate
and rage. A rifle, the muzzle of which
was smoking, lay at his side; and the
edge of the trapper's ear was bleed
ing.
i've shot Dick Raymond by the
balsam thicket,' said the detective. I'm
afraid he's hard hit
I'll 60 and see the boy answered
the trapper. You'll find Harry furder
up. There's only two runnln.' You
and he can bring 'em in
The old trapper saw, as he descended
the hill, the body reclining on the
moss at the edge Of the balsaD
thicket.
you've won the game, old man.
The trapper for moment made no
reply. He looked steadfastly into the
young mans countenance; fixed his
eyes on the red stain on the left breast.
els it my last deal, old manp" asked
the gambler, carelessly.
81 be sorry for ye, boy" replied the
old man, "for life be sweet to the
young, and / wish that yer years might
be many upon the earth"
81 fancy there's good many who will
be glad to hear I'm out of it," was the
response. 81 don't doubt ye have yer
faults, boy" answered the trapper,
"and 1 dare say ye have lived loosely
and did many deeds that were better
undid, but the best use of life be to
learn how to live, and 1 feel sartin
ye'd have got better as ye got older,
and made the last half of yer life wipe
out the fust, so that the figure for and
agin ye would have balanced in the
Judgment"
"You aren't fool enough to believe
what the hypocritical church members
talk, are you, John Norton? You
don't believe there's judgment day,
do youp"
al don't know much about church
members" answered the trapper, 'fol
I've never been in the settlements
leastwise I've never studied the habits
of the creturs, and dare say they diff
fer, bein' good and bad and I've seed
some that was sartinly vagabonds. No
I don't know much about church paem
bers, but / sartinly believe; yis, L know
there be day when the Lord shall
jedge the living and the dead; and the
honest trapper shall stand one side ant
the vagabond who pliers his skins ant
steals his traps shall stand on th'
other. This is what the book says, ant
it sartinly seems reasonable; for tn,
deeds did on earth be of two sorts, ant
the folks what do 'em be of two kinds
and attween the two, the Lord
If he knows anything, must make {
dividin' line."
And when do you thing this judg
ment is ? asked the gambler. as If IN
was actually enjoying the crude bu
honest ideas Of his companion.