A Frontier Doctor Page: 26

A FRONTIER DOCTOR

pictur that I did not want to let the other feller get ahead.
I saw a big chance to make a lot, so I jerked my money
out as quick as I could, put it by his roll, and reached
over to pick up the pictur cyard, but the cyard I grabbed
didn't have a thing on it.
'Gosh, but I was mad. I reached to grab my money,
but they was too quick. The train stopped at a station
and away they went. But they left them three cyards on
the seat, so I tuk 'em home and have been working with
'em ever sinse. I got so I cud skin all the boys around the
old fa'm, so I'm going to the Black Hills to skin some of
them gold miners.'
Whereupon the young Missourian took off his overcoat,
folded it across his lap, pulled a red bandanna from an
inside pocket, and shook out of it three worn and dirty
playing cards, two with spots and the other the queen of
hearts. After producing a large roll of bills, he began to
shuffle the cards back and forth on his lap in a very awk-
ward manner. He finally turned the cards face down-
ward, threw them back and forth carelessly in such a way
that any one could easily pick the queen, counted out one
hundred dollars from his roll and invited any of the pas-
sengers to cover it and pick out the queen.
Bull quickly pulled a roll of bills from his pocket,
counted out one hundred dollars, and of course turned
over the queen. Fish frowned, seemed quite vexed,
shuffled again. Bull bet and won.
Fish now became quite enraged, threw the cards about,
and refused to let Bull bet any more, but extended an in-
vitation to the rest. By this time the six men facing us
were quite certain that Fish was the raw product he
seemed to be.
When he invited the rest I saw Prentice's right hand
slip toward his pocket, but, before he could get to his cash,
the young Minnesotan in the middle of the back seat

26