Omaha daily bee., 1922-04-09

seriously against the house, Junes friend would
begin to win and 10 bet still more heavily. and
old Nelse. up there In the lookout. would slip
shutter the signal TO say that his eyes were be-
ginning TO ache and that he would like to skip
T. deal or two, whereupon Nelse would climb
down and relieve him.
Luck was pretty likely to turn against the
piunging player soon after. When he was
troke June would surrender the case rack 10
one of the professional casekeepers, laughingly
assure the victim that his turn would surely
come next time. and fit away with him to the
end Of the bar to Join him in a consoling drink
the house.
Ii was a boy who went plumb broke. so that
he couldn't come back to play any more who
gave her the name He and she had been
chummy for more than fortnight so that his
pals had all been jealous and he had got posi-
lively cocky about 1t. and then when his money
was gone she let him down suddenly, due to
another man in the offing that Nelse had picked
TO be his successor.
He came in one night and bought a drink
or two and piked with SIS or $40 at the wheel
and went over to start one of his old joyous
talks with her. and found her chilly as January
norther Some of his friends-they were a
roughish bunch-gave him the laugh. "a lot
l care!" he cried dehantly, being young. Shutter
was getting himself sandwich during his half
hour layof period at midnight. not far from
where they stood at the bar, and heard him.
"A lot I care! Damn little hell cat" Which
showed how terribly much he did care, because
it wasn't customary in those days to call young
ladies names, not even young ladies who as
sisted their fathers in the profitable conduct OF
a gambling house. If Nelse Kincaid had heard
him say It he might have come a'smoking.
Cole Gurney was a big chap about 2S or "a
years old, with blue eyes. lot Of thick wavy
hair and a manner some ways, that was even
younger than his age. He had been working
a year or two for the Circle Lazy D outfit, and
somebody up north somewhere had died and
left him $4,000 or s15,000 and he was going
to get him bunch Of cows OF his own. Ihat
is what brought him into San Antonio. Before
he had been in Nelses place three times Nelse
knew all about the $4,000 or $4,000, and that
he had it on deposit over in the McCluskey bank.
The next evening June let Gurney buy her
a drink.
It developed that the boy had failing and
a virtue 1t was easy for him to drink too
much. When he began to get under the in
fuence he developed an amazing streak OF
stirfgness. Nelse Kincad, no doubt, listed these
traits reversely
Well organized, with seven or eight drinks
disposed of, Gurney's idea of financial reckless
ness was to buy one $40 stack of chips at
roulette table and put them all down at once,
win or lose, and then quit. From the players
standpoint Shutter conceded in telling this,
there might be lot ways less indicative of wis
dom In bucxing game where the percentage
in favor of the house is as devastating as in
roulette. Cole esteemed faro to be lacking IN
sufficiently brisk action but he played 1t oc-
casionally. Especially when June offered to
keep cases. He played So chips, mostly with
perhaps IS or $40 on the turn, when the bank
pays four for one if the player guesses the cor
rect order in which the last three cards came
out Of the box and limited his losses to $50
or so.
Nelse, with his mind on that $4,000 or
$4,000 over in the McCluskey bank, was plumb
disgusted. la
June never for minute let it affect her
work. Drunk or sober, play high or play low,
she smiled her sweetest on Gurney. Her eyes
had never beamed liking on one OF his predeces-.
sors moro convincingly, or more effectively. II
ever she owned a slave 1t was Cole. He spent
all his evenings in the place, and when he
couldn't be with her-and naturally she wasn't
foolish enough to let any ono customer mon
opolize her smiles-he never left off looking
at her.
He got, one night, to talking big brother
stuff.
Nothing she told Nelse, when he asked
her the next day what all the confidential con-
versation had been about. Nothing. Except
place"
who the hell ever dares to say you do?" Nelse
demanded Hes got a nerve coupling you UP
with them"
"And gave me dare" she said. laughing
a little, but laugh without any great amount
of amusement in it. "He said he kind of didn't
Ike to see nice young lady drinking"
'Damn critical, amt he?" said Nelse, grin
ming at the thought of the special gin bottle of
spring water. "What was the dare?"
"He said he'd swear off drinking, cold, II l
would"
Nelse was irritated, but encouraged, too.
HE might almost as well be a teetotaler, at
that" he grumbed. ''the way he plays 'em up
against his chest when he's lit. Stick to him,
June; we'll find way to make him loosen. yet.
But don't give him too many chances to spout
this confidential stuff"
June patted him. Little June can take
care of herself. daddy" she said.
"Bet your life she can," he responded
proudly He had a tremendous admiration for
the girl. had Nelse. And affection. too In
way. Some warped in his ideas to how
father ought to bring up daughter, to be sure,
but what could you expect? He was what he
was and she was his. If he wasn't proud OF
his business, he wasn't ashamed of it. and he
didn't know any reason why he should be.
It was week or so after this that he heard
about how badly Cole Gurney wished he had
two or three times as much capital as laid over
there in the McCluskey bank to his credit wait
ing to be checked out. 1t was really chance
Of lifetime. ranch, with fair acreage un-