The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1908-01-19
dealer took their money also.

the Bronco Kid was dealing straight |
faro now He was too good a player
TO force a winning hand. and CLIENTS
ters Ill fortune became as phenomenal |
as his winning had been The girl who I
figured ia this drama was keyed to the /
highest tension, her eyes now on her /
counters, now searching the profile OF
her victim. Glenister continued to lose
and lose and lose, while the girl gioat-
ed over his swift coming ruin. When /
at long intervals he won bet, she
shrank and shivered for fear he might
escape If only be would risk it all
everything he had.5 He would have to
come to her then.
The end was closer than she realized.
The throng hung breathless upon each
move OF the players, while there was no
sound but the noise of shifting chips
and the distant jangle of the orchestra.
The lookout sat far forward upon his
perch, his hands upon his knees, his
eyes frozen to the board, dead cigar
clinched between his teeth. Crowded
upon his platform were miners tense
and motioniess as statues. When a
man spoke or coughed. a score Of eyes
stared at him accusingly, then dropped
to the table again.
Glenister took from his clothes bun
ola of banknotes 50 thick that it re-
Quired his two hands to compass 1t.
Onlookers saw that the bills were
mainly yellow. No one spoke while he
counted them rapidly, glanced at the
dealer, who nodded. then slid them
forward till they rested on the king.
He placed a copper ON the pile. A
great sigh OF indrawn breaths swept
through the crowd The north had
never known bet like this-it meant
a fortune Here was a tale for ones
grandchildren--that man should win
opulence in an evening. then lose 1t in
| one deal. This final bet represented
more than many Of them had ever
seen at one time before. Its fate lay
| on a single card.
| Cherry Malotte's fingers were like ice
and shook till the buttons of her case
| keeper ratified, her heart raced till she
| could not breathe, while something rose
up and choked her. IL Glenister won
| this bet, he would quit. She felt it. If
| he lost, ahi what could the Kid there
4 feel, the man who was playing for q
| paitl.y vengeance, compared to her
I whose hope of happiness, OF love, Of
| life hinged on this wager?
| Evidently the Bronco Kid knew what
| card lay next below, for he offered her
| no sign. and as Glenister leaned back
he slowly and firmly pushed the top
| card out OF the box. Although this
| was the biggest turn of his life, he be
| trayed no tremor. His gesture display
| ed the nine of diamonds, and the
crowd breathed heavily. The king
| had not won. Would 1t lose? Every
gaze was welded to the tiny nickeled
box. If the face card lay next beneath
the niue spot, the heaviest wager in
Alaska would have been lost; il it still
remained hidden on the next turn, the
money would be safe for moment.
Slowly the white hand of the dealer
moved back. His middle finger touch
ed the nine of diamonds. 1t slid
smoothly out of the box, and there in
its place frcwned the king Of clubs. At
last the silence was broken.
Men spoke: some laughed, but in
their laughter was no mirth. 1t was
more like the sound OF choking. They
stamped their feet to relieve the grip
of strained muscles. The dealer reach
ed forth and slid the stack of bills into
the drawe at his waist without count
ing. The case keeper passed shaking
hand over her face, and when 1t came
away she saw blood on her fingers
| where she had sunk her teeth into her
| lower lip. Gienister did not rise. He
sat heavy browed and sullen. his jaw
, thrust forward. his hair low upon his
forehead, his eyes bloodshot and dead.
'.I'll sit the hand out II you'll let me
bet the finger" said he.
Certainly" replied the dealer
When a man requests this privilege
IT means that he will call the amount
Of his wager without producing the
visible stakes, and the dealer may &C
cept or refuse according to his judg
ment of the bettor's responsibility. II
is safe. for no man shirks q gambling
debt in the north. and thousands may
.. go with nod OF the head though never
a cent be on the board.
There were still few cards In thu
, box, and the dealer turned them. pay
ing the three men who~ played. Glen
lister took no part, but sat buIked ovei
his end of the table. giowering from
beneath his shock of hair.
Cherry was deathly tired. The strail
! Of the last hour had been 30 intensa
: that she could barely sit In her seat
I yet she was detuFmined to anish tn.
: hand. As Bronco paused before thu
7 last turn many OF the bystanders mad
: bets. They were the ease players
!. who risked money only on the ma
pair, thus avoiding the chance Of tw,
z cards Of like denomination coming to
! gether. IN which event ("splits" it 1
2 called the dealer takes half the mon
= ey. The stakes were laid ct last an
e the deal about to Atsrt whan Gleniste
2 spoke. = sssN&iti What'e thia piac
. worth BEoncol u. u
: sswhat Do ypu nnean -
;. 'You own this eutntr He wave
9 his hand shout the reolA- VEIL wha
: da1a 4 RAe xe1