The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-10-11

The fifth drew a long breath, grinned
n~ervously. showing his teeth like a
hungry wolf-tossed his land into the
discards.
1t was now up to F~renchy.
Pardon me-" said he, "but did you
call me?"
His face had turned a dull. CHASTITY
green. but his voice was quiet and
clear.
RAISED it."
oh. certainly" said he, smiling.
Thinking Of something else-trip
home. I guess His voice lowered un-
til ii was almost ~inaudible. This alb
sent-mindedness was unusual for
Frenchy.
An oppressive silence had fallen in
the barroom OF the big g." There was
no longer any clinking of glasses or
hum of maUdlin voices. The loUngers
drew up in a hushed circle about the
table and stared with fascinated eyes.
a big game" was on-and IL was up
to Frenchy. Frenchy was no gutter;
he was a gambler TO his finger-tips.
"Frenchy ? He'd bet on which'd be the
last breath of his dying mother"' That
was the way the popular legend ran.
and the man lived up to il.
Stake IL all-stake # all On the
deuces-the deuces-the deucesf" The
AANNAS NSNAA 80 ~ C&(E VA MS AtGA q
shrieklng now n stamping red-hot
heels into Frenchy's brain.
But the trip home-Tve planned five
years urged his pounding heart.
You won on them ~Once-didn't you?
didn't you2-didn't your" reiterated
the little devil
Frenchy quietly poured out another
GLASS n dOwned it. Then he pulled
of his boots, produced q bunch Of bills
from the bottom of each, put on his
boots again and looked at his hand.
Come two thousand more," he whis-
pered.
a sound of deeper breathing grew up
about the fascinated circle of onlook-
ers. Frenchy had gone into his boots
they knew what hat meant. Would
the others stay? Would they?
The place became uncanny with still
ness. Nothing moved in the room. The
circle of eyes stared steadily upon the
three who sat with expressionless faces
blanched with the pitiless struggle that
was going on. For a minute that
seemed endless the soundless battle
continued. Psychic forces exchanged
visible sword thrusts across the table.
Nerve wrestled with nerve tina cow
cred bu still fought on.
The whole scene vanished for
Frenchy. It seemed to him tina he was
~ -AtN ~ IL ~ AAgAahN AaE11H III
a voice, that was rather an ache felt
than a sound heard. kept up a pitiless
teering-
They'll stay-they'H stay"' shrieked
the little devil; your bluff won't work
you're a dead horse and they're crows
-crows-crowsN"
They're Weakening beat the heart
of Frenchy.
"Deuces-ha. hai Deuces! And they've
both got face cards-deuces-ho. hot
going home. eh?-win on deuces?-ho.
no. ho-deuces" The insistent devil
laughed spitefulIy.
Raise you FIVE hundred morer'
The words echoed and re-echoed in
the lonesome hollowness. Frenehy
stared at his cards.
Five hundred more"
Frenchy WINGED and shivered. It
seemed TO him that a long thin-bladed
knife had reached out Of the silent hol-
low that surrounded him and stabbed
him twice in the breast.
"HO. no. no." went the little devil at
the back OF his head. stay with EN-.
Put w the horses-everytAng on the
deuces-ho. no. no.
But 7 can lay down now n save
the horses urged the sick heart of
Frenchy.
You Won on the deuces once,'
shrieked h little devil: didn't you
didn't your"