Then, like he's made up his mind to die right yere,
Cherokee turns in without no more words an' bets five hundred
dollars. It makes Ellis, who's new an' plumb poor that a-way, sort
o' draw a long breath.
"'Which you'll climb some for this pot if you gets it,' says
Cherokee, after his money's up; an' his tones is shore resentful.
"The avaricious gent thinks it's a bluff. He deems them three kings
good. Cherokee most likely don't better by the draw. If he does,
it's nothin' worse than aces up, or a triangle of jacks. That's the
way this sordid sport lines up Cherokee's hand. "'Merely to show you
the error of your ways,' he remarks, 'an' to teach you to lead a
'happier an' a better life, I sees your five hundred an' raises her
back the same.' An' the avaricious gent counts off a thousand
dollars. 'Thar,' he says when it's up, 'now go as far as you like.
Make it a ceilin' play if the sperit moves you.'
"'I sees it an' lifts her for five hundred more,' retorts Cherokee.
An' he shoves his dust to the center. "Cherokee's peevishness is
gone, an' his fault-findin' is over. He's turned as confident an'
easy as a old shoe.
"It strikes the avaricious gent as alarmin', this quick switch in
the way Cherokee feels.
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