Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1916-12-13

job.
He went out with a great show Of haste,
but returned almost immediately. forgot
the urgency Of matters III general in find
ing Garry idly snGffiing 4 deck of cards.
Throughout the evening Joe had exhibited
an u~nwillingneSs 10 meet the third mans
chances directly, but il was impossible for
him 10 remain oblivious TO the clicking Of
the chips. lie balanced first on one foot
and then on the other for a moment, then
diftidently drew up a chair.
"Just for a friendly hand or two. | sup
pose" he suggested when the other made
no move 10 begin. Low limit and wide
open, ehf"
Garry still toyed with the cards.
Il don't suppose you've ever forgotten
the first game III which We INDUCED, have
You, joel" he asked at length.
Joe was not comfortable
Scarcely" he admitted, Scarcely
"Nor the-stakesf" pursued Garry.
81 seem 10 recall 'em family"
Garry peal Of amusement was a. rollick-
ing as a boys.
$50 do L. he exclaimed. "And if l re-
member rightly Won stated on that occas-
ion that cash was no consideration with
You. Does that still hold good?"
1t was the first good look Joe had had
at the others face. The change he found
in il seemed to perplez him more than q
little.
IL take it that it does" Garry did not
wait for his reply. And now-what do
you say to that same full bottle against a
"a ninety-nine year blanket restriction,
with me AT the wrong end Of the oddsq"
Joe slitted his eyes.
"When they tuck n ninety-nine year
clause into a franchise they mean It's for
ever, don't they?" he wanted to know.
Forever, to all ~intents and purposesr'
said Garry.
Joe's chest sank and rose in a long, long
breath.
dts no wcrd to trifle with" he eau
toned at last. "lf you lose it'll be = con-
siderable drouth."
Gut" invited Garry, and they start
ed to play.
That other night Garry's stack Of chips
had lasted far longer than they did on this
second occasion. A half hour later, when
he rose to 20 to bed, his n~inety-nine year
promise of abstinence was piled symct-
really before Fat Joe. But his good night
was gay. For o time after his departure
Joe eyed Steve sidewise.
"Hum-m-m." he cleared his throat.
"Hum-m-ml And ! was expectin' You 10
turn up any hour Of the last twenty-four
With a request that | come and help bring
home the remains. You must be quite O
silver tongued exhorter, aren't you,
Stcve7"
Stephen O'Mara was silent over the pap
er which Joe had handed him earlier in the
evening. and the lack Of any offer on his
part 10 go into details did not trouble his
questioner. Fat Joe sat and bobbed his
head over what would never cease to be q
miracle in his eyes.
"And he'll stick this time" he vented
his wonder aloud. "Hc's surely going to
stickr' Then he smiled widely. "And I
reckon you'll nave 10 admit that ] handled
the small part that came my way with ease
and dispatch when I tell you that he didn't
catch 80 much a. one lonesome pair al
he time ] was dealing. I'm ashamed NJ
myself. ! haven't seen such n mean. crook
"a game Of stud dealt since ! came east''
Garry was very guiet the next morning
when he and Steve went bach 10 their
work; before noon came his uneasiness had
become very apparent to the man he was
assisting. Int reither his silence nor his
nervousness any longer worried Steve. In
stead the latter let himself smile over both
these outward evidences OF inward panic,
whenever his thoughts were on Garry at
all. For the %latter's dlfidenee as the day
agcl became a flushed and warm checked
thing, until ut 4 in the afternoon Steve
Cor which. wordlessly. Garry was asking.
lice was more than half right" be re-
marked, one eve on his level. I'm spite
Of the fact that we refused to take hin
seriously. We can't LET those people come
in and find everything too hopeles.ly un-
comfortable, 50 perhaps you'd better run
head now. Garry. and see what he has
accomplished. | don't want TO leave this
spot myself until I have some figures upon
which | know I can rely. But; you might
run ahead, if you will I'll be along later"
1t was couched in the form Of a request,
but Garry's face famed. And he went. al
belt a Bit reluctantly. And be stopped
more than a few times in his climb from the
Of the timber to the door Of Steve's
But once be had passed over the
threshold to find that unrecognizably trim
room empty. his face grew heavy with
--.s--- H. -zr - The x~~swf -