“From the moment she sat down I felt morally certain that it was a case of three against one, for the Major was not much in evidence. And I was pretty confident that the man from Texas was going to hold his own, as indeed he did triumphantly. For nearly twenty minutes his play was a perfect puzzle, and the trio got actually nervous as he threw down hand after hand that ordinarily he would have betted heavily on. They stacked the cards, not once, but half a dozen times, giving him excellent cards, but he pretended to have lost his nerve, and played now with seeming rashness, and now with cowardice, but never risking any considerable amount, until he had them rattled. “Then he played a trick that was worthy of the great Herrmann himself. It was at once the boldest and the neatest thing I ever saw at a card table, and although I thought I saw it done, I was not certain about it till he told me of it after we had become well acquainted. It was Keene’s deal and Downing’s cut, and the latter, watching, as he did, every motion around the table, knew that Keene’s nerve had failed him, and that he had not this time undertaken to set up the cards. His time had come, and as he leaned over to cut he substituted another pack for the one Keene had shuffled. It sounds like an impossibility, but wonderful things are possible to a sleight-of-hand performer, and he was the best I ever saw at a card table. Not one of the other players saw it, but he knew that deal every card that every player would hold. “And they held wonderful cards--all but the Major. It was his first say, and he dropped out. Alcott came in and discarded two cards. Downing was next. He raised it twenty and threw down three cards. Keene raised it fifty, and threw down one. ‘Flash Kate’ came in with threes, but did not raise. Alcott saw the raise, and Downing raised it a hundred. The others all came in, and the draw was dealt. “They all filled, of course, and it being Keene’s deal, they suspected nothing, but, each being confident of his own strength, they betted wildly. It was almost too quick work to follow, but in a few minutes Keene said: ‘I claim a show for my pile,’ and pushed the money already in the pot a little to one side. The others nodded, and went on betting. “Presently Alcott also claimed his show, and Downing and ‘Flash Kate’ went on. She must have had five or six thousand with her, for there was over twenty thousand on the table when she called, with what appeared to be the last of her money, and it came to a showdown. Keene had four jacks, Alcott four queens, ‘Flash Kate’ four kings, and Downing four aces. “For an instant there was perfect silence. Then Alcott and Keene made a movement simultaneously, as if to seize the money; but Downing was quicker than they. It was impossible to say where he drew his revolver from, but it was there in his right hand, while he coolly pulled in the money with his left.