lim build
helped him in the emergency, and again he caught the train. The
fat man was unable to, but the conductor backed the cars and took
him aboard.

"Where is the tramp cowboy that robbed me?" he excitedly demanded.

"He jumped off as you got on."

"I wouldn't mind the loss of the money," he said, "but the idea of
being swindled out of it by such a cowboy looking kind of tramp
breaks me all up."

Where was Bill? In the sleeper was a smooth-faced young man who
had taken off a cowboy suit of clothes, put on a bran new suit of
black broadcloth, gold eye-glasses, clean-shaved face. This preacher-
looking fellow soon came into the car where the big man and myself
were talking over the loss, and sat down near us. I was busy
pumping the sucker to see if he had any more money.

"Why, anybody can play that game," he said, and of course I remarked:
"The dealer though has every advantage, as he has two cards to your
one. If I had some cards, I would show you how it is done."

That was enough for the preacher-looking man, and, slipping back
into the sleeper, he procured some cards and dropped them down into
one of the seats near me. I saw them and picked them up, observing,
"I believe these are the same cards."

The sucker looked at them and declared that he believed they were.

I began playing the cards, but the fat fellow said, "You are pretty
good, but you can't handle them like the cowboy did."

"It wants practice," I said.

I practiced on, when up stepped the preacher-looking, gold-glassed
individual, saying: "I'll bet you a dollar I can guess the card."

"Oh, I don't want to bet with any boy preacher," I said.

"I'm no boy preacher. I'm studying to become a priest."

"You'd better keep that dollar; that's my advice."

I was only waiting for Bill to put a mark on the card, which he
soon did while I went back to get a drink. As I came back they
all began to laugh at me, and the big fellow said, "Any fool could
tell the card the way you throw them."

Then I pretended to get mad; so I offered to bet $2,000 that no
man could turn the right card.

The priest spoke up, "I'll bet you $200 in gold that I can do it."

"Put it up," I said.

This made the sucker crazy, for he was so anxious to get even that
he pulled out and counted down $860. But I would not bet less than
$1,000. There was a little man standing near who offered to loan
him the $140 to make up the $1,000, when Bill turned and said,