post, as our supply of flour and navy
beans was running rather low, and our foreman had hopes that he might
be able to get enough of these staples from the sutler to last until
we reached Dodge. He also hoped to receive some word from Lovell.

The rest of us had no lack of occupation, as a result of a chance find
of mine that morning. Honeyman had stood my guard the night before,
and in return, I had got up when he was called to help rustle the
horses. We had every horse under hand before the sun peeped over the
eastern horizon, and when returning to camp with the _remuda_, as I
rode through a bunch of sumach bush, I found a wild turkey's nest with
sixteen fresh eggs in it. Honeyman rode up, when I dismounted, and
putting them in my hat, handed them up to Billy until I could mount,
for they were beauties and as precious to us as gold. There was an egg
for each man in the outfit and one over, and McCann threw a heap of
swagger into the inquiry, "Gentlemen, how will you have your eggs this
morning?" just as though it was an everyday affair. They were issued
to us fried, and I naturally felt that the odd egg, by rights, ought
to fall to me, but the opposing majority was formidable,--fourteen to
one,--so I yielded. A number of ways were suggested to allot the odd
egg, but the gambling fever in us being rabid, raffling or playing
cards for it seemed to be the proper caper. Raffling had few
advocates.

"It reflects on any man's raising," said Quince Forrest,
contemptuously, "to suggest the idea of raffling, when we've got cards
and all night to play for that egg. The very idea of raffling for it!
I'd like to see myself pulling straws or drawing numbers from a hat,
like some giggling girl at a church fair. Poker is a science; the
highest court in Texas has said so, and I want some little show for my
interest in that speckled egg. What have I spent twenty years learning
the game for, will some of you tell me? Why, it lets me out if you
raffle it." The argument remained unanswered, and the play for it gave
interest to that night.

As soon as supper was over and the first guard had taken the herd, the
poker game opened, each man being given ten beans for chips. We had
only one deck of cards, so one game was all that could be run at a
time, but there were six players, and when one was frozen out another
sat in and took his place. As wood was plentiful, we had a good fire,
and this with the aid of the cook's lantern gave an abun