Read Online The Gentleman Outlaw and Me-Eli by Mary Downing Hahn - Free Book Online
Authors: Mary Downing Hahn
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you take my heart," Calvin went on in a softer voice. "I win if I keep my heart. Your chances are one in three, gentlemen. Mine are two in three, which gives me the edge, I admit."
Flourishing the ace of hearts, he surveyed the crowd. "All you need to beat the odds are sharp eyes, gentlemen. Come, who'll give me five dollars to steal my heart away?"
After some hesitancy, a scruffy miner stepped forward and slapped a five-dollar gold coin on the box top. "I reckon I can affort to part with that and a whole lot more if I have to."
I held my breath when the miner lost, but instead of accusing Calvin of cheating, the fool went and slapped down another coin. After four tries, he gave up and headed toward the saloon.
A tall gent with the look of a salesman said the miner was blind in one eye and couldn't see out of the other. He insisted on laying down twenty dollars, thinking he'd win the miner's losses as well as Calvin's. Naturally he lost too.
This went on for quite a while. After Calvin had won more money than I'd seen in my whole entire life, some folks started grumbling.
"It's mighty peculiar nobody wins but you, sir," the salesman said. Unlike the other losers, he'd hung around, watching one man after another empty his pockets on Calvin's box top.
This was my cue. With Caesar at my heels, I pushed my way timidly to the front of the crowd, apologizing for every foot I stepped on, minding my manners just as Calvin had instructed me to. He'd convinced me a body could get away with almost anything, including highway robbery, as long as he said "please" and "thank you."
When he saw me approach the box, Calvin frowned and shook his head. "I don't accept money from children," he said.
"But you're scarcely more than a child yourself, sir," I piped up. "Surely you must take pity on such as me and let me try my luck."
I put a silver dollar on the box. "It ain't much, but it's all I got, sir. You know it won't last me long, so what does it matter if I lose it now or later?"
A ripple of sympathy ran through the crowd,
especially from the ladies, who weren't gambling themselves but enjoying the spectacle of seeing rogues and rascals lose to a handsome young man like Calvin.
Calvin shook his head. "How could I sleep tonight knowing I'd taken your last dollar? Go to church, boy, as I should have done when I was your age. Pray to the Lord to help you. Don't fall into evil ways as I have."
At this, Caesar whined and nudged me with his nose as if he too was aiming to save my soul.
The murmuring grew a little louder. One lady said, "Let the child play. If he loses, I'll give him a dollar myself."
Before Calvin could accept her offer, a tall, thin gentleman stepped up to the box and laid down a ten-dollar gold piece. "I'll play for the boy," he said. "If I win, he can keep the money free and clear." He returned the silver dollar to my pocket, and the crowd clapped and whistled.
Calvin glanced at me, his face pale. He'd clipped the corner of the ace of hearts so I'd be sure to find it. If he put that card on the table, the stranger was bound to notice. It was clear Calvin would have to go on cheating. Either way, he was taking a risk, I thought, as the gentleman had a sharp-eyed, hollow-cheeked look that reminded me of a half-starved wolf.
"Well?" The gentleman eyed Calvin impatiently.
Or was it suspiciously? "Do you accept my offer or not?"
From the corner of my eye, I made a further study of the gentleman's appearance. He wore a fancy black coat over a white shirt, a black tie knotted loose around his neck. In its folds glittered a stone that might have been glass but more likely was a genuine diamond. On his head was a slouch hat. Its brim hid most of his face but not his fancy handlebar mustache, waxed to perfection, or his long brown hair.
A revolver hung on one hip for all to see. I didn't doubt for a moment he knew how to use it.
In short, the fellow was the very image of what Calvin himself wanted to be—handsome,
Flourishing the ace of hearts, he surveyed the crowd. "All you need to beat the odds are sharp eyes, gentlemen. Come, who'll give me five dollars to steal my heart away?"
After some hesitancy, a scruffy miner stepped forward and slapped a five-dollar gold coin on the box top. "I reckon I can affort to part with that and a whole lot more if I have to."
I held my breath when the miner lost, but instead of accusing Calvin of cheating, the fool went and slapped down another coin. After four tries, he gave up and headed toward the saloon.
A tall gent with the look of a salesman said the miner was blind in one eye and couldn't see out of the other. He insisted on laying down twenty dollars, thinking he'd win the miner's losses as well as Calvin's. Naturally he lost too.
This went on for quite a while. After Calvin had won more money than I'd seen in my whole entire life, some folks started grumbling.
"It's mighty peculiar nobody wins but you, sir," the salesman said. Unlike the other losers, he'd hung around, watching one man after another empty his pockets on Calvin's box top.
This was my cue. With Caesar at my heels, I pushed my way timidly to the front of the crowd, apologizing for every foot I stepped on, minding my manners just as Calvin had instructed me to. He'd convinced me a body could get away with almost anything, including highway robbery, as long as he said "please" and "thank you."
When he saw me approach the box, Calvin frowned and shook his head. "I don't accept money from children," he said.
"But you're scarcely more than a child yourself, sir," I piped up. "Surely you must take pity on such as me and let me try my luck."
I put a silver dollar on the box. "It ain't much, but it's all I got, sir. You know it won't last me long, so what does it matter if I lose it now or later?"
A ripple of sympathy ran through the crowd,
especially from the ladies, who weren't gambling themselves but enjoying the spectacle of seeing rogues and rascals lose to a handsome young man like Calvin.
Calvin shook his head. "How could I sleep tonight knowing I'd taken your last dollar? Go to church, boy, as I should have done when I was your age. Pray to the Lord to help you. Don't fall into evil ways as I have."
At this, Caesar whined and nudged me with his nose as if he too was aiming to save my soul.
The murmuring grew a little louder. One lady said, "Let the child play. If he loses, I'll give him a dollar myself."
Before Calvin could accept her offer, a tall, thin gentleman stepped up to the box and laid down a ten-dollar gold piece. "I'll play for the boy," he said. "If I win, he can keep the money free and clear." He returned the silver dollar to my pocket, and the crowd clapped and whistled.
Calvin glanced at me, his face pale. He'd clipped the corner of the ace of hearts so I'd be sure to find it. If he put that card on the table, the stranger was bound to notice. It was clear Calvin would have to go on cheating. Either way, he was taking a risk, I thought, as the gentleman had a sharp-eyed, hollow-cheeked look that reminded me of a half-starved wolf.
"Well?" The gentleman eyed Calvin impatiently.
Or was it suspiciously? "Do you accept my offer or not?"
From the corner of my eye, I made a further study of the gentleman's appearance. He wore a fancy black coat over a white shirt, a black tie knotted loose around his neck. In its folds glittered a stone that might have been glass but more likely was a genuine diamond. On his head was a slouch hat. Its brim hid most of his face but not his fancy handlebar mustache, waxed to perfection, or his long brown hair.
A revolver hung on one hip for all to see. I didn't doubt for a moment he knew how to use it.
In short, the fellow was the very image of what Calvin himself wanted to be—handsome,
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