Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1895-11-22

Of ground, he told her he'd make
proposition by which she nigh
sell him all the War Crys she had
The poor little thing listened tt
him, and her e5 es got bright, ant
she asked him what the proposition
was. lie had her sit down at ;
card table, and be toek three cardi
"a king and two spot cards-nnC
shuffled 'em on the table 40 tha
she could see the King while b
wos shuffllng 'em, and then asked
her if she could pick out the kinl
as the three cards lay face down
along side one another on the table
She said of course she could. lie
says 10 her, TRY it, She done so
and of course she picked out the
king.
He says: That's smart, and
dld't think you could do it. Now
I'll tell you what pII do; I'll shuttle
The cards, and overy time Jor
pick out tue king I'll buy two Wa
CryS. Every time you pick out a
spot card J ou are to give me u WaV
Cry fer nothing. She agreed tC
that.
the poor child didh'G know thai
she was gambIing-didn't know
that she was tackllng the nOtori
Gus Montana Bill 10 his particular
specially didn't know that she
had run up against The slickest
three card monte lhrower in the
whole North west.
We'll, you know what happened,
Bill cleaned the poor child out oil
every Wal Cry she had, then laugh
ed dt her, | saw her as she sat
there, and | saw how she began to
Iealizs that she had lost all her
papers and dldu't have a cent to
show for 'em. | saw how white
she got, and how she started al
Bill like he'd run Il knife through
her Cody; l saw how she got up
and looked around at the laugh.
lug men, like a Lamb cOrnered by
a pack of wolves; | saw her try
hard to keep down the tears, anu
theD she say: Men, l will pray to
God TO lead you all into better lives.
And her voice was 80 clicked up
she cJuidn'C say any more. Tnen
she walked out slowly and cried
all the way up the street.
The biz mdn paused, for his OWL
voice had become unaccOuntably
thick and had lost much OF it's rich,
deep swlUg ana resonance. But he
soor Iegaiued his selt-pJssesslon,
aud then proceeded
Montana Bill was hard case
for sure, but he had IA small streak
of manhood sOmew here under hle
thick skin. The boys IN the joint
all thought 1t was a great joke on
the little girl, and they laugh q
and shouted till they almost crack
ed The roof. Bat Bill dldn't laugh.
lie stood silent and glum, with hiO
hands in his pockets, looking Out
through the door. Tnen he went
out, saying he had a game await
ing for him at lke's saloon, and ht
went slOuching up the street. Ih'
further he got away from the joint
the faster he walked, and then lie
done sneakiDg thiDg-he looked
back to see if any of the boys was
following him. They wasn't
though, and then he let ont them
lo0g legs of his for the liYellest
walk he ever took in his life.
'He soon caught sight of her,
and then he slO we'd up and lollel.
ed. Sho was still crying, and peo.
pie would stop and wonder what
was the matter, and some OF 'tm
laughed. Bill got on to that, and
1t riled him through and through.
He slapped one fellow clean into
the middle of the street, and went
right on without a word. l heard
afterward that several people that
he knOwed spoke to him, but he
didn't see none Of 'em, and kept
right on.
"Ihe girl went straight to the
head quarters of the Salvation
Army, and Bill fOiIered her in.
She went into a little Office,
where there didn't happen TO he
anybody else, and sat down aud
put her head on the table, and
cried like her heart was broke.
For the first time In his life Mon.
tana Bilfs nerve broke down. Sue
looked so small aud forlorn and
mi serable that if he hadn't been
the man that done her up he'd a
gone out aud whipped the fellow
that did. And when he .knOwed
that lie was that identical scOun-
drcl, and that there wasn't anybody