The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-12-05

OF he place looked askance Mt Mr..
t'oody when he caIme back. the others
In the room responded gracefully to
his proposition when he said Lets
Nouor.' And as old man 0reenlaw's
prejudice was not strong enough to
induc him to forego the profit on the
transaction, he set out glasses for
everybody. including himself. after
which all drank. Then at Mr.. Blais-
dclrs suggestion the ceremony was re-
peated.
No further preliminaries being con-
sidcred necessary. Mr.. Blaisdell pro-
posed an immediate adjournment to
h back room. and to this Mr.. Bloody
i~nterposed no objection. though there
was an air Of doubt in the way he ex-
pressed himself.
81 slo' does like poker he said.
but | amt got no use TO no limit
game. IL yo' uns plays that away
I'm liable to go to sleep an mcbbe they
Won't nobody ind nothin' ~int'restin' In
the p'ceedin-s."
They IL a limit gently into the game
tho way We uns plays" admitted Blais.
dell. but W. puts It up In the skyi.
So fur We hain't never had nobody
make no 'bjections to that. We en-
take L, off il yo' all piers"
"Mcbbc yo' mought s well take il
on" said Body. %grinn!ng apprecia-
lively. The skyi IL all right as a
gent rule. but II | sh'd git anyways
het up over a cxtry good hand I'm
liable to make a hole into II. an A..
kansas City wouldn't be no kyind OF a
place 10 nobody II the skyi was to
git damaged"
"Oh, very WE'LL said Dlaisdell,
well take of the skyi IL that II be
any inducement. We en- use II again
later on case Of a pikcr settin' IN
some other time"
And this being understood. Mr..
Body checrfully Joined the procession
into the other room. He did not an
ticipate any very interesting game,
but he had outlined a plan in his
mind by which he thought he could
muse himself a little.
The primary object he had in going
back to the saloon was to kin as much
az possible OF the time that must
6apse before he would be able to find
means Of getting away from Arkansas
City. He was therefore in no haste
TO begin the line of play ON which he
had determined. preferring to discover
first what sort Of game 1t was that
he had TO beat. He therefore played
along idly and carelessly, as it seemed.
betting on his tnnds or throwing
them down as the within seized him
without reference to their strength
n with entire disregard of the mon
etary value of the chips he put in
the pot. He succeeded in his way
in impressinR the others with the no.
ton that he was an Indifferent player
at best. while as a matter of fact he
was studying their methods closely
and was keenly observant OF their
every
Thus he whiled away much time
very pleasantly and not unproftably.
though the process involved the pur-
chase OF a considerable number Of
successive stacks OF chips. On the
other hand. Mr.. Blaisdell and his as
~sociates. observing the nonchalance
with which he paid for the stacks,
were beguiled into agreeable illusions.
1t appeared to them that they were
likely to make great gains at the ex-
! pense Of no great EFFORT.
Even oil man Greenlaw. surprised
and r%eioiced rs he was by tho prodi-
eality ~ Mr.. BoOdy's purchases. began
In think that his customer was no
after all a true Ozarker. and in con-
sequence relaxed somewhat the vigil
lance of his supervision, though he
kept in mind the location OF his bung-
starter. The situation. therefore. was
far more agreeable to all concerned
thar IL might reasonably have been
expected to be.
Mr.. I,oody. however, was not an
extremely patient person, aud after
some time the mono,ony Of losing
steadily palled on his taste. ~whereupon
he changed his tactics completely n
suddenly.
Picking up a hand which Blaisdel.
dealt To him, he studied II with grea.
and obvious interest and bet out
II rally when his turn camc to play.
lie vas raised by both Winterbottom
and Bassett successfully and tra!leJ
with a fair assumption of mingled
confidence and apprehension which
seemed to satisfy although II did not
surprise his antagonists.
They repeated their play. and he
repeated his 80 many times that there
came to lie IA pot in the centre of
the table Of such noble proportions
that Mr.. Boody saw, without having to
calculate closely. that he could recoup
all his losses and reap a considerable
profit in addition II only he could take
the pot.
All three OF the contestants had eX-
hausteSl their supply OF chips by this
time and were using real money TO
bet with. and both Bassett anu Win
terbottom were forced, after a time, to
apply to old man Greenlaw for al
dltional supplies. That gentleman
hesitated q little, but after satisfying
himself that Blaisdell had dealt the
cards. he produced the money. and the
betting continued for several more
rounds until even Winterbottom wav-
cred, raising the bet with what looked
like a lack of confidence.
Seeing this, Mr.. Body put his NAM
inside his shirt. Hitherto he had
taken his money from various outside
pockets, producing wad after wad, all
of respectable though not heroic size,
This time, however. lie brought forth
IA bundle of bills that made the others
gasp.
First he laid in the pot q sufficient
amount to cover the last double raise.
and then he said: ~ 60 yo' $50 900 mo-"
And he put up thar mount in bills.
This time Wiptnrhattnn u,nuEanaI