The semi-weekly messenger., 1903-05-19

! a fool, n you can't hold that agin
| Bassett. What I RELY blame him for,
IS gettin' licked. I reckon you must be
| mistaken about that, Sam. Amt you.
now?"
'MistakenI' exclaimed Pearsall, i'm
! patiently well, if you'd ha' saw that
feller climb all over Joe while ne was
! drorin' his gun, an take the gun away
f'm him, an knock him down. an
dance on his belly an kick MS face
| till Joe hollered Enough you'd Ia
| thought he was licked
| Pears like somebody else might ha'
| took a hand" observed Greenhut.
! Well, just naturally there was some
! body else took a hand replied Pearsall
| still more impatently. ""Tain't likely
! we was goin' to set by an see no such
! doins as that 'thout mixin' in, don't
| reckon. Trouble was, 1t was all over
so quick, you couldn't seem to re'lize
it. We was rec'nin' on Joe doin' the
! stranger UP, an the stranger doEe him
up. Soon as we seen it, o'c curse, we
! jumped in, but you couldn't do nothin'
1t were a fair fight n everybody
seen it.
well" said Greenhut, with a sigh,
1T don't seem fittin that such things
sh'd be, but what's did is did. Where
do you say Joe is now?"
: "I left him up to the doctor's." said
, Sam, "gettin' a few stitches put in his
face"
, AN this here stranger, what did you
say his name is?"
Somebody said he called hisself Jim
Billings, n claims to come I'm some
where's up in the OZarks, but nobody
round here pears to know who he Is, or
what he come to town for
AN where is he now?''
He's up to the hotel film up with
bugjuice in the bar-room."
Seems a pity" said the old man,
as what he's been used to, bein' as he
comes f m up in the mountains.
He said no more for q time. but light
ing big, black cigar. he walked around
to his favorite seat by the wtndOw and
put his feet carefully on the window
sill Sitting thus, he smoked in silence
for a while, and the others in the room,
seeing that he was thinking hard, dis
cussed the details of the fight with
Pearsall, in understOnes.
After a considerable interval the old
man spoke again. '''I'ears like there
was the maxim of a citizen in this here
Billings" he said, slowly and without
removing the cigar from his mouth
Then he lapsed into silence again.
There's different ways o doin
things he said at length; but it looks
to me like it'd be good thing to see if
he's got any appetite left for draw
poker. More'n likely he has, seen' as
how he's got money of his own an
some o Joe BaSsett's wad in his kick.
An havin' did up one o the leading cit
ZenS o the town, he won't have no such
respect for Arkansas City poker as he
might have if he knOwed more. There's
one thing certain. 1t ain't good med
icine to have no such man as him in
hn I,aiS in 70
stay permanent. If he is. he 8 like
enough to be a credit TO the place, but
if he's just gOin' to swell round an
blow hisself with his wfnnin's an then
go home an talk about what he's did
the reputation of Arkansas City'n
suffer. Pears like some on We q better
get some acquainted with him, an if
he wants to play. you en- have the back
room fr n game, any time. Might be
just as we'll, though, not TO have no
rough house with u man that's done
licked the sheriff. l don't want no kill
in on the premises. Things like that is
best did out doors, if they're did at all.
But if Billings is anyways as good Il
man as he pears to be FIN this remark
able yarn o Sam PearsalFs, he's alto
gether too valuable to waste"
As an upshOt of this suggestion two
or three of the group left the room and
sauntered slowly toward the hotel
Just what happened there, they did not
explain, but in half an hours time.
they reappeared and Billings was With
them.
: 1t apeared from what was said on
their entrance, though no particulars
were given, that the stranger was en-
tirely Indifferent as to the form of his
amusement provided it should be some
thing that offered some sort Of excite
ment. He was willing to play poker, or
to fight, or. in case no one cared to en-
gage in either of these pastimes, he
could content himself. as he had been
doing at the hotel, with the cOnsump-
tiOn of red liquor.
II just come to town" he explained
TO old man Greenhut," to see what was
doin' here and do a little on it myself
Things Is gettin' too blame slow UP
home"
We'll, said the old man, Il have
! heer'd it said round here, sometimes
! that things was slow in Arkansas CITY,
! but the boys is always ready to make it
/ interestin' for strangers
| 1t was not long before the cards and
! chips were on the table in the back
! room and four of the best players in
! town were pited against Mr.. Billings
| while the old man, who seldom played
| cards himself. though he was credited
with a thorough knowledge of the game,
2
| It's table stakes. I reckon. ain it g"
asked Carruthers, as he ripped open the
| new deck.
| What's table stakes?'' asked the
stranger.
| Well you can't raise man beyond
| what he has on the table" explained
! W1nterbottom. nor he can't dig for 20
more while he's playin' 4 hand. You
can get a show down for what's in
! front Of YOU
That don't go with me" said Bill
| ings, "thouten it's a freeze-out, an I
L amt playin' no five handed freeze-o out.
| There don't nobody get no showdown
'thout putin up his pile if I'm playin'.''
"An right" said Pearsall- Its no
| limit then
This was agreeable. and WinterbOtOm
dealt The very first deal brought ar
ton. 1t was Blaiesdell's ante and he
made 1t dollar 10 play. They all came
| IN. and he raised it two dollars. Car
ruthers stayed: Billings made It five