Argosy and Railroad Man's Magazine, Vol. 107 No. 3 — page 68: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

410 “You're holdin’ out on. me,” accused _ Marshal Tom. ' “ T never used a hold-out in my hull life,”’ rejoined Mr. Bugbee, but without the ran- cor which such a statement would usually have roused. “I come clean. All the way. You and I agreed to show down on what we knew, up to the time you come in the door —didn’t we?” “We did. And I did.” ‘“‘ And I did, Tom, on my word of honor. So, you win that twenty dollars, and I win enough to cancel my oat bill. But, that ain’t saying I expect you to pay it!” “Tim Bugbee, air you aimin’ to tell that feller what I told you?” ‘“‘ Not for forty oat bills. off a hand at poker?” The argument could no more be carried on than if the decision had gone against Marshal Tom in the United States Su- preme Court. Tom had played poker with Tim. Judges have been known to err—and reverse themselves afterward. “Then,” said Tom, with the courtesy of one who knows he is outgamed at his own game, ‘‘ what air you aimin’ to do, Tim?” “* Meet a note at the bank for a hundred dollars. I had twenty saved up. The note’s due to-morrow. You got the twenty. My cards was luckier than yours.” Between sixty dollars and pride, Tom did not waver. He had stood to lose twenty. He had won that amount. The oat bill money was counted out, without a tremor. ‘“‘Ts that enough to call your hand?” asked Marshal Tom. Mr. Bugbee pocketed it and said that it was ample. Then he told what he knew and how he knew it, “ coming clean” from worry and facts, - simultaneously. “As a livery-stablekeeper, Tom,” said the marshal when he had finished, “‘ you air the best poker-player I ever met. My ad- vice is to sell the stable. I can’t arrest him. He ain’t done a thing that’s criminal. He’s got a right to make a fool of hisself, under the constitution. He’s paid for that room and there’s no law against his leavin’ it the way he did or going’ where he wants to go.” , Did I ever tip ARGOSY AND RAILROAD MAN’S MAGAZINE. ‘As the police-force, Tom, you’re the best freight-handler that ever was promoted to the job, and if you like my poker-playin’ so well that you want to buy my livery- stable, I’m open to an offer. Also, I may say, you're the best ‘ fleece-lined ’ police- man I ever run up against-in my born days —and your name ought to be Jason, in- stead of your nephew’s. If you hain’t got enough golden fleece to buy the stable, seein’ how Jase is now fixed with such a nice job, mebbe hed lend it to you.”’ ‘What air you aimin’ at, Tim Bugbee?” ‘““Golden fleece. What are you, Tom?” Mr. Bugbee countered. “I wish I knew where that fellow was, right now, and what he intends doing. I can’t arrest him for what he intends to do, even with what information I’ve got from you this far; but, if I could shadder him, and he started to do anything wrong, or I had reasonable cause to think he was about to do something wrong, I’d grab him and lock him up.” ‘‘ Mike Burns told me he thought he was one of these advance guards of gangs that rob banks,” said Mr. Bugbee. ‘“ But that ain’t why he dolled up and went out. Didn’t you jest tell me that he got off the same car with Viv Baldwin when he rode into town? | ‘‘ Well, he told me the reason he had that first good seegar to give me, when I told him about Phelps, was that he hadn’t give it to a girl he liked well enough to give it to, if the conductor ’d give him an intro- duction to her—which he didn’t. You shaddered him to ‘her office. ‘““ Now, if I can keep that second seegar, Tom, that I promised you one of if he gives me two more, to-morrow, like he did to- day, 111 tell you where he is, right now, and you can shadder him to your _heart’s content.” , 7 Magnanimity sometimes crops up in the most unexpected places. The marshal accepted. Mr. Bugbee opined that James Stuart had gone to the theater and would be found somewhere near the piano which Miss Baldwin played, and in so doing revealéd why he had begyn life with one alleged horse and had reached Coalport with enough to stock a livery- ECoOnniclboooks (C(O) mM