seven of hearts,
flashed it at the Merchant, replaced it, and stayed.

The Eminent Person, after due consideration, saw the five hundred and
raised it to a thousand. "To dissuade you all from drawing out on me,"
he explained, stroking his mustache with deliberate care.

The Stockman called without comment. The Judge hesitated, swore
ferociously, and finally called.

Steve squeezed his cards with both hands for a final corroborative
inspection, scratched his head and rolled his eye solemnly around the
festal board.

"Eleven hundred dollars of my good coin in there now, and here I sit
between the devil and the deep, blue sea. One thousand bucks. Much
money. Ugh! One thousand days, each day of twenty-four golden hours
set with twenty near-diamond minutes! Well! I sure hate to give you
fellows this good gold."

"Steve's got one of them things!" surmised the Stockman.

"A fellow _does_ hate to lay down a bobtail straight flush when
there's such a chance for action if he fills," chimed in the Eminent
dealer.

"It's face up, Steve. You'd just as well show us. My boy, you ought to
wear a mustache," said the Judge, critically. "Your lips get pale and
give you away when you try to screw your courage up. Of course,
you've got a sweet, little, rosebud mouth; but you need a big, ox-horn
mustache in this vocation."

"Don't show it, Steve," advised the Stockman. "I judge his Honor's got
one of them same things his black self. You might both fill--and you
don't want to let him see how high yours is."

"If I only don't fill the wrong way," said Steve. "Want to split the
pot or save stakes with me, Judge?"

"That would be a foolish caper. If I fill--I mean," the Judge
corrected himself hastily--"I mean, I've got the money won now, unless
you draw out, and that's a 52 to 1 shot."

"Me, too," said the dealer. "We both got it won. But I'll save out a
hundred with you, Steve. That'll pay your bills and take you home."

"That'll be nine hundred to draw cards for a chance at nine thousand
and action on what I got left. Faint heart never won a jackpot. Here
goes nothin'!" said Steve, pushing the money in. "One from the top,
when you get to me. If I bet after the draw, you all needn't call
unless you're a mind to."

"Got that side money and pot straight?" queried the dealer lightly.
"All right?" He stretched out a long left arm and flipped the cards
from the pack with a jerk of the wrist. "Cards and spades? (I'm pat,
myself, of