re Squire Matthews, that was
justice of the peace. They would be fined a big fine, and he would get
all the drummer had won and all he had brung to town with him besides.
Squire Matthews and Jake Smith and Windy Goodell and Mart Watson, which
the two last was lawyers, was always playing that there game on drummers
that was fool enough to play poker. Hank, he says he bet they divided it
up afterward, though it was supposed them fines went to the town. Well,
they played a purty closte game of poker in our little town. It was jest
like the doctor says to Looey:

"By George," he says, "it is a well-nigh perfect thing. If you lose you
lose, and if you win you lose."

Well, the doctor, he had started out winning the night before. And Si
Emery and Ralph Scott had arrested them. And that morning, while I had
been laying by the crick and the rest of the town was seeing the fun,
they had been took afore Squire Matthews and fined one hundred and
twenty-five dollars apiece. The doctor, he tells Squire Matthews it
is an outrage, and it ain't legal if tried in a bigger court, and they
ain't that much money in the world so fur as he knows, and he won't pay
it. But, the squire, he says the time has come to teach them travelling
fakirs as is always running around the country with shows and electric
belts and things that they got to stop dreening that town of hard-earned
money, and he has decided to make an example of 'em. The only two
lawyers in town is Windy and Mart, which has been in the poker game
theirselves, the same as always. The doctor says the hull thing is a
put-up job, and he can't get the money, and he wouldn't if he could, and
he'll lay in that town calaboose and rot the rest of his life and eat
the town poor before he'll stand it. And the squire says he'll jest take
their hosses and wagon fur c'latteral till they make up the rest of the
two hundred and fifty dollars. And the hosses and wagon was now in the
livery stable next to Smith's Palace Hotel, which Jake run that too.

Well, I thinks to myself, it IS a dern shame, and I felt sorry fur them
two fellers. Fur our town was jest as good as stealing that property.
And I felt kind o' shamed of belonging to such a town, too. And I thinks
to myself, I'd like to help 'em out of that scrape. And then I seen
how I could do it, and not get took up fur it, neither. So, without
thinking, all of a sudden I jumps up and says:

"Say, Doctor Kirby, I got a scheme!"

They jumps up