Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1908-01-01
,eNyS1t NSt1yNNS
strangers, and Hampton smiled softly

! HlIaHSo1ss anu 1dIuptOu bIu1lSO SOILiy |
son observing the size OF the rolls
|, rather estehthtieasfy exhibited by
. thernl His satisfaction WAS IN hbwassN
lessened by the sound OF their voices,
when incautiousIy s raised in anger
Power some unfortunate play He inn
,mediately recognized them as the iden-,
htieal individuals who had, loudly and
lvafnly protested over his occupancy OF
the best rooms at the hotel He
>ctuckled 'grinfy.! 7lia~ on .: &fdts!Gi
But what bothered him paftiealarIy',
was @avin.a The coolg gray eyes. tglanc-
5ing, ~itha such apparent .negli gencec
f9across the cards in; his hands, Noted
feYery slight :, movement of. the, red
bearded gambler, in expectation, of de-
trtecting some sign of trickery, or some
bevdence that Ae had been selected by
lsthis1 hrecihus trioefor1 the phrnose of1
easy pluckiRg2 sKnaxerE was SlaEin,s
Style but Apparently he was now
l7play1ng straight game, no doubt .realr
f,izing clearly. behind his simpassiye
f'mask Of aGface, the utter futilfty Of
seeking TO- oatwit' one Of Hampton's s
Ienviable reputation. 4atfefEc2 yit~@.33
/! IT. was, uhauestionabiy, al fairly
AfSought3four:hande battle, and at lastl
thoroughly convinced of this, iHamp-
ton settled quietly down, prepared to
play out his game. The stakes. grew
steadily larger Several times drinks
were served. but. Hampton contented
himself with a gulp of water always
| gripping an unHghted cigar between
| his teeth. He was playing now with
| fapparenta feckiesHness 5 never ihgsaat4
7 ing oVef7a card, his -eye+as watchfuf as
that, Of hawk, his betting quick, con-
/ fident,, audacious.IT The ,contagion1 Of
/ his spirit seemed to affect the others,
to force them, into desperate 'wagers.
! The perspiration was beading Slavin's
! forehead! and now and then an oath
burst nnbestraihed from his hairy lips.
Halves. and Willis sat1white,faced bent
| forward canxieusly over the=tabIe, their
PhngeEs shaking, as they handled the
1 Hateful .cardss = but Hampton played
Ewith0ut pereeptible tremor, his, utter
ances few and monosyllabic, his calm
face betraying not the faintest emo.
| tion9YO MI: l!iT' 9T'. rE@y ~ MOO :
And he was steadily winning" Occa.
siohallV SOME other hand drew in the
! growing stock of gold and bank notes,
| but not often enough to Offset those.
continued gains that began to heap-ups
4 in such an .allHFing pile upon his por-2
tion, of the table. The -loekers-on who
had come in began to observe this, and
gathered more closely about his, chair,
fascinated by the luck with which the
1 cards came floating into his hands, the
cool Judgment of his critical plays, the
1recktess abandon with which he forced
i success. Suddenly he forced the, fight
to a, finish The opportunity came-in
IA Jackpot which. Halves had opened.
The betting began with a cool thou
| sand, Then Hampton's turn came,
Without drawing, his cards yet lying
/ downward before him on the board,
his calm features as immovable as the
! Sphinx, he quietly pushed his whole
4 accumulated pile to the center, named
the sum, and leaned back in his chair,
his c.eyes cold, impressive. l. Halves
| threw down his hand, Wipingl his
streaming face with his handkerchief;
willis counted his remaining roll, hest
tated, looked again at the faces of his
I cards, flung aside two, drawing to fill,
and called loudly for showdown, bis
eyes protfuding:' Slavin, .cursing
| fercely under his red beard, having
| drawn one card his tperplexed face in
stantly frightening as he glanced at
4 it, went back into his hip pocket for
/ every cent he had, and added his pro-
fame demand for a chance at the
1 money. ,,..s-e,- f,.,..---- -.5 --f
! A. fortune rested on. the table a for
| tune the ownership of which was to
be decided in a single moment, and by
the movement of hand. Willis was
/ gasping, his whole body auivering;
Slavin was watching Hampton's hands
as a cat does mouse, his thick lips
parted, his fingers twitching neryously.
The latter smiled grimly, his motion
deliberate, his eyes never wavering.
Slowly. one by one, he turned up his
cards, never even deigning to glance
downward, his entire manner that of
unstudied indifference. One-two-
three. Willis uttered snarl like a
stricken wild beastt, and sank back in
his chair, his eyes closed, his cheeks
CHASTITY -Four. Slavin brought down
: his great elenched first with a crash
on the table, a st-ing of oaths bursting
unrestrained from his lips. Five.
Hampton, never stirring muscle, sat
there like statue, watching. His
right hand kept hidden beneath the
table, with his left he quietly drew in
the stack of bills and coin, pushing the
stuff heedlessly into the side pocket of
his coat, his gaze never once wander
ing from those stricken faces fronting
him Then he seftly pushed back his
2 chair and stood erect. Willis never
moved. but Slayin. rose unsteadily, to
his feet, gripping the table fercely
with both hands.
Gentlemen" said Hampton, grave
| L. t,s aIaor uoioo cn,rndinO lilo fhd