mers, while the slenderness of the little pile of coins in
front of him testified that his endeavors to tempt them to speculation
on games of chance had met with no very marked success as yet.
Gambling for stakes of moment is not a popular amusement in that
country; where the soil demands his best from every man in return; for
the scanty dollars it yields him, but the gamester had chosen his time
well, and the men who had borne the dreary solitude of winter in
outlying farms, and now only saw another adverse season opening before
them, were for once in the mood to clutch at any excitement that would
relieve the monotony of their toilsome lives.

A few were betting small sums with an apparent lack of interest which
did not in the least deceive the dealer, and when he handed a few
dollars out he laughed a little as he turned to the barkeeper.

"Set them up again. I want a drink to pass the time," he said. "I'll
play you at anything you like to put a name to, boys, if this game
don't suit you, but you'll have to give me the chance of making my
hotel bill. In my country I've seen folks livelier at a funeral."

The glasses were handed around, but when the gambler reached out
towards the silver at his side, a big, bronze-skinned rancher stopped
him.

"No," he drawled. "We're not sticking you for a locomotive tank, and
this comes out of my treasury. I'll call you three dollars, and take
my chances on the draw."

"Well," said the dealer, "that's a little more encouraging. Anybody
wanting to make it better?"

A young lad in elaborately-embroidered deerskin with a flushed face
leaned upon the table. "Show you how we play cards in the old
country," he said. "I'll make it thirty--for a beginning."

There was a momentary silence, for the lad had staked heavily and lost
of late, but one or two more bets were made. Then the cards were
turned up, and the lad smiled fatuously as he took up his winnings.

"Now I'll let you see," he said. "This time we'll make it fifty."

He won twice more in succession, and the men closed in about the table,
while, for the dealer knew when to strike, the glasses went around
again, and in the growing interest nobody quite noticed who paid for
the refreshment. Then, while the dollars began to trickle in, the lad
flung a bill for a hundred down.

"Go on," he said, a trifle huskily. "To-night you can't beat me!"

Once more he won, and just then two men came quietly into the room.
One