long ago and far away, when there were still a “wilderness” and a “prairie” and men were men and even men who were destined to make millions lived in wooden huts and tents and campsites lit by kerosene lamps, eight white men sat down to a game of draw poker somewhere between dodge and san francisco.
two of the men were buck gray and jonah james.
jonah james would found a town with his own name and own it and be the richest man in it.
buck gray would become one of the richest men in the world.
the game was played in a fairly warm and well lit room behind a jail. the sheriff had kindly allowed the eight men to use it for the purpose, at no charge up front, although it was understood that the winner or winners would show the sheriff their appreciation at the end of the night.
the town had a jail and a hotel and a few saloons, but there was no bank - no real bank with any money in it - for over a hundred miles.
and the game was a friendly game, with none of your “table stakes” or even “pot limit”. no, a man could bet anything he wanted, whether he had it on him or was ready to stake his honor that he had it or something worth it, and it was up to the caller to come up with the money, or pledge the money or pledge something the bettor would accept as fair value.
a friendly game.
the night wore on. the lamp burned low. the wind howled outside, in the lonesome pines.
cole miller had the deal. it went around to jonah, three from cole’s right , and he opened, for a hundred dollars.
phil parker, frank johnson, cole, and hank stevenson all folded.
it went back around to buck, two from cole’s left, and he raised another hundred. rance farley and dan mccloud dropped out and jonah just called.
leaving buck and jonah the only players.
nothing to write home about here. a couple of the players yawned.
buck took two cards and jonah one.
then things got serious.
2 comments:
Well I am glad...because I want more. Love the flow of the story telling here. Great writing Rhoda!!
thank you!
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