f feet to a tune, and they bore the rough
stamp of soldiers and laborers. But there were others, as there had been
before the bar, who wore their clothes differently, who had a different
poise and swing--young men, like Neale, whose earlier years had known
some of the graces of society. They did not belong there; the young
women did not belong there. The place seemed unreal. This was a merry
scene, apparently with little sign, at that moment, of what it actually
meant. Neale sensed its undercurrent.

He left the dance-hall. Of the gambling games, he liked best both to
watch and to play poker. It had interest for him. The winning or losing
of money was not of great moment. Poker was not all chance or luck, such
as the roll of a ball, the turn of a card, or the facing up of dice.
Presently he became one of an interested group round a table watching
four men play poker.

One, a gambler in black, immaculate in contrast to his companions, had a
white, hard, expressionless face, with eyes of steel and thin lips. His
hands were wonderful. Probably they never saw the sunlight, certainly no
labor. They were as swift as light, too swift for the glance of an eye.
But when he dealt the cards he was slow, careful, deliberate. The
stakes were gold, and the largest heap lay in front of him. One of his
opponents was a giant of a fellow, young, with hulking shoulders, heated
face, and broken nose--a desperado if Neale ever saw one. The other two
players called this strapping brute Fresno. The little man with a sallow
face like a wolf was evidently too intent on the game to look up. He
appeared to be losing. Beside his small pile of gold stood an empty
tumbler. The other and last player was a huge, bull-necked man whom
Neale had seen before. It was difficult to place him, but after studying
the red cheeks and heavy, drooping mustache, and hearing the loud voice,
he recognized him as a boss of graders--a head boss. Presently the
sallow-faced player called him Mull, and then Neale remembered him well.

Several of the watchers round this table lounged away, leaving a better
vantage-place for Neale.

"May I sit in the game?" he inquired, during a deal.

"Certainly," replied the gambler.

"Naw. We gotta nough," said the sallow man, and he glanced from Neale to
the gambler as if he suspected them. Gamblers often worked in pairs.

"I just came to Benton," added Neale, reading the man's thought. "I
never saw the gentleman in black before.