Long Mike was also in the game, but Long Mike sometimes won, having remarkable streaks of luck, such as McCarthy never seemed to get. And the one-eyed man was playing, too, so that there was really no reason to suppose that the stranger was the only man at the table who understood all the tricks of the game. Hennessy had bought a stack of chips, and even Stumpy, though he was a prudent man usually, was soon interested enough to ask for a hand. As there was no objection, he took the sixth seat. It cost him only five dollars for a stack, and as the game was table stakes, there was a chance for him either to go broke speedily, or to win considerable money. At first, it seemed likely that he might do the latter, for the very first hand he picked up had three kings. Long Mike was dealing and it was Hennessy’s age, so Stumpy had first say, he having sat down between Hennessy and McCarthy. “I’ll play,” he said, throwing in his red chip with the two whites that Hennessy had put up for an ante. McCarthy played also. It was to be expected that he would, for it was as hard for him to stay out as it was to win. The one-eyed man came in, Britton raised it, and Long Mike and Hennessy laid down. “Sure I’ll raise that,” said Stumpy, making it one dollar more. McCarthy swore, but even his optimism was not enough to induce him to see a double raise on two nines, and he threw down his cards. The one-eyed man and Britton both made good, however, and they called for cards. Stumpy took two, which proved to be a small pair. The one-eyed man took one, and Britton stood pat. Stumpy threw in a white chip, being sure of a raise, but the one-eyed man dropped. He had not bettered his two pairs. Britton raised it one dollar, and Stumpy pushed all his chips forward. A king full seemed worth backing, and, when Britton called, he showed them down triumphantly. “Give me another stack,” was all that Britton said as he threw down his cards. It may have been part of his plan to lose at first, and in any case the loss was not heavy enough to daunt him, but he smiled as cheerfully as if he had won. There was no play on Hennessy’s deal, and a jack-pot was made. Stumpy dealt next and caught three kings again. No one opened until it came to him and he put up the size of the pot, hardly expecting any stayers. Britton, however, came in, taking a chance on a red and a black eight, and Long Mike decided to speculate on a four flush. Neither of them bettered, and Stumpy showed his kings and took the pot. “Lucky cards,” said Britton, and no other comment was made. Again there was no play and another jack-pot was made. It was not opened for two deals, but when the cards came to Long Mike in turn, Stumpy was fairly amazed to find that once more he had three kings. It did not look right, and if it had been Britton’s deal he would have hesitated about playing them, but Long Mike was above suspicion, so he opened the pot with cheerful confidence.