"That is good. Shall we walk a little? And when you play--come here." We stepped apart from the listeners. "When you play, follow the lead of Jim. He'll not lose, and I intend that you shan't, either. But you must play, for the sport of it. Everybody games, in Benton." "So I judge, madam," I assented. "Under your chaperonage I am ready to take any risks, the gaming table being among the least." "Prettily said, sir," she complimented. "And you won't lose. No," she repeated suggestively, "you won't lose, with me looking out for you. Jim bears you no ill will. He recognizes a man when he meets him, even when the proof is uncomfortable." "For that little episode on the train I ask no reward, madam," said I. "Of course not." Her tone waxed impatient. "However, you're a stranger in Benton and strangers do not always fare well." In this she spoke the truth. "As a resident I claim the honors. Let us be old acquaintances. Shall we walk? Or would you rather dance?" "I'd cut a sorry figure dancing in boots," said I. "Therefore I'd really prefer to walk, if all the same to you." "Thank you for having mercy on my poor feet. Walk we will." "May I get you some refreshment?" I hazarded. "A lemonade--or something stronger?" "Not for you, sir; not again," she laughed. "You are, as Jim would say, 'fortified.' And I shall need all my wits to keep you from being tolled away by greater attractions." With that, she accepted my arm. We promenaded, Jim sauntering near. And as she emphatically was the superior of all other women upon the floor I did not fail to dilate with the distinction accorded me: felt it in the glances, the deference and the ready make-way which attended upon our progress. Frankly to say, possibly I strutted--as a young man will when "fortified" within and without and elevated from the station of nondescript stranger to that of favored beau. Whereas an hour before I had been crushed and beggarly, now I turned out my toes and stepped bravely--my twenty-one dollars in pocket, my six-shooter at belt, a red 'kerchief at throat, the queen of the hall on my arm, and my trunk all unnecessary to my well-being. Thus in easy fashion we moved amidst eyes and salutations from the various degrees of the company. She made no mention of any husband, which might have been odd in the East but did not impress me as especially odd here in the democratic Far West. The women appeared to have an independence of action. "Shall we risk a play or two?" she proposed. "Are you acquainted with three-card monte?" "Indifferently, madam," said I. "But I am green at all gambling devices." "You shall learn," she encouraged lightly. "In Benton as in Rome, you know. There is no disgrace attached to laying down a dollar here and there--we all do it. That is part of our amusement, in Benton." She halted. "You are game, sir? What is life but a series of chances? Are you disposed to win a little and flout the danger of losing?"