“So Charlie, he sot down and watched me rifflin’ the cards.

“‘Playee poker?’ says he.

“‘As a relaxiation, Charles,’ says I.  ’Poker is a business for gentlemen of means—­gottee nomonee!’

“‘Me stakee you,’ says he.  ‘Likee poker.’

“So Jim and some of the other boys come over, and Charlie and me begun to draw cards.  After we dubbed through a few deals, gettin’ on to each other’s play, I see Charlie stow away a pair of aces.  Now, ordinarly, I’d complained, but, under the circumstances, it didn’t appear to me to be the decent thing to do, so I motioned to Jim, and he slid me a pack with the same sort of backs.

“After that you never in all your borned days see such hands on a poker table.  Why, a king-full wasn’t worth raisin’ back on.  A set of fours was the least a man could have confidence in, and only if it was on his own deal, at that.

“Howsomever, havin’ a hull pack at my disposal, whilest Charlie could only use his hold-outs, I worked him down to tin cans of vegetables, the busted coffee-pot, and the pants.

“He, bein’ as game as any white man, jack-potted the lot.  It was just draw cards and show down for the money.  Darned if he didn’t get the best of me.’  How I come to pick out the queen of diamonds to match a straight club flush is one of them things that won’t be revealed till Judgment Day.  There wasn’t nobuddy more surprised than me.  This brought us down to even Stevens, and I felt irritated, so I come back at him with one play for the bunch.  He agreed, and I dealt him four aces, pat.  I was going to draw to fill my straight color.  I snaked out the three I had on my knee, and was just goin’ to insert ’em where they’d do the most good, when Pete’s v’ice says:  ‘Well, Zeke!’

“It was a joyful v’ice, but I knowed he’d seen my play.  I dropped them cards.

“‘One minute, Pete,’ says I. I called across the table to Charlie, ‘Show openers and win!’ And when he laid down them bullets I’d give him with my own hands, my heart broke inside me.  But I couldn’t stand for a crooked play seen by Old Pete.

“I hopped up from the table and shook his hand, I shook Maggy’s hand, where she stood, smilin’ bashful, and then I shook the hand of a strange gent in black clothes, whose name was Mr. Somethin’-or-other.

“Pete explained to me that the gent was a minister travelin’ through the country, who’d offered him and Maggy a ride to town.  ‘We thought we might as well get hitched at the same time,’ says Pete, ‘and I sure wanted to see you, Zeke.’

“‘Yes,’ says Maggy.  ’It wouldn’t seem right to get married without you bein’ there, Mr. Scraggs.  To think of what you’ve done for Pete!  And that Charley High-ball there is just the blessedest angel that ever was!  Why, he got some stuff in the woods and put it on Pete’s back, and made him well in a minute, you might say.  And there warn’t nothin’ he wouldn’t do for us.  And I’m just the happiest woman ever was,’ says Maggy, wipin’ her eyes on her apron some more.