Produced by WebRover, Peter Vachuska, Charlie Howard, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net [Illustration: “JIM, THIS YER’S DOC WEYMOUTH”] POKER JIM, GENTLEMAN AND Other Tales and Sketches BY G. FRANK LYDSTON PUBLISHERS MONARCH BOOK COMPANY CHICAGO COPYRIGHT 1906 BY MONARCH BOOK COMPANY CHICAGO _To The Most Indulgent of My Friends And the Least Charitable of My Critics This Book will Give Joy. To Them I Dedicate It. The Author_ ILLUSTRATIONS “JIM, THIS YER’S DOC WEYMOUTH” _Frontispiece_ PAGE JIM WAS BOUNDING TOWARD THE OPEN DOOR, LEAVING HIS INSULTER LYING UPON THE FLOOR WITH A CLEAN CUT IN HIS CHEST 42 THERE WAS A SHORT, SHARP STRUGGLE, A HARMLESS SHOT, AND JIM’S INSULTER WAS LYING ON THE FLOOR WITH A CLEAN CUT IN HIS CHEST 63 JOHNNY GOT A STRANGLE HOLD ON THE FILIPINO’S THROAT WITH HIS LEFT HAND, WHILE WITH HIS RIGHT HE DREW HIS KNIFE 143 “CUSTOM-MADE SORROW” 160 A ROPE WAS SPEEDILY FOUND AND TIED ABOUT MY NECK 202 A WISE CHILD 216 “IS MY COUSIN JUAN A COWARD, THAT HE LIES IN AMBUSH?” 286 CONTENTS POKER JIM, GENTLEMAN 1 TOMMY THE OUTCAST 81 JOHNNY 114 MY FRIEND THE UNDERTAKER 160 A GRIM MEMENTO 182 A WISE CHILD 216 LEAVES FROM A SUICIDE’S DIARY 247 CHICQUITA 266 A DEAD IDEAL 297 A MATTER OF PROFESSIONAL SECRECY 323 A LEGEND OF THE YOSEMITE 351 A GREAT CITY’S SHAME 372 PREFACE It requires some assurance to step out of the conventional in story writing. Especially does it require courage on the part of one whose ideals of what a story should be are far beyond what his productions can ever attain. But the physician, who gets closer to things human than others do, may perhaps be forgiven unorthodox subjects and methods of expression. Surely, also, he will be excused for drawing upon his own field of work for his subject matter.