ould see. I played even Steven; but the wind shifted plumb
away from Jabez, an' he lost steady. Part of the time Dick corraled the
pots, an' part of the time me an' Piker provided shelter for 'em: but
no matter who won, the ol' man lost.

Twice he frowned purty serious, an' once I caught him givin' Dick a
queer hurt look. The ol' man hadn't a drop o' welcher blood in his
make-up; but cheatin' was spelled in mighty red letters to 'im. Dick
was smilin' now as sweet as a girl baby, an' makin' funny, joshin'
remarks, which was a new turn for him; but at the same time the' was
somethin' in his face that wasn't altogether pleasant.

When midnight arrived Dick an' Piker was each about two thousand ahead,
I was slidin' back to taw, an' the old man was payin' the fiddler. We
had doubled the edge again at eleven, an' were usin' both the strange
decks, changin' every few deals. Then the luck began to settle to Dick.
Two out of three times on his own deals, an' every single time on
Piker's deals, the devidends slid into Dick's coffers, while I was
growin' resigned to havin' had a good run for my money. Jabez' face was
drawn an' worried, which was queer, 'cause he was allus a royal loser.

At last we had built up a four-story jack-pot, an' every feller's face
wore the take-off-your-hat-to-me smile. It was Dick's deal an' we all
held three cards except Jabez who had furnished openers. He only
wintered through a pair, but after he looked at his draw he settled
back to enjoy himself. I held three kings an' a brace o trays. It
looked to me as if that jack-pot belonged to Happy Hawkins. The
peculiar expression had wore off Jabez' face, an' his eyes had a glad
glint in 'em. I was only in for my table stakes, so I didn't make much
of a noise, nohow; but the other three kept boostin' her up till it
begun to look like a man's game all right.

"If you'll excuse the limit, I'd like to show my appreciation of this
little hand by bettin' a hundred on it," sez Piker.

"I'm willin'," sez Jabez, "an' if it goes, why, I'll see your
appreciation an' raise you five hundred."

"I don't have any more vote," sez I, "just enjoy yourselves."

"Oh, no, Happy," sez Dick, as serious as a hangman; "no matter if we
raise the edge every hand, you must vote on it each time. We must be
perfectly regular, you know, because this is merely a friendly little
game to pass away the evening, you remember. I shall make no
objections."

Jabez had slid deep into hi