"_Fair fellow, said Sir Ector, knowest thou not in this country any adventures that be here nigh hand? Sir, said the forester,... strike upon that basin with the butt of thy spear thrice, and soon after thou shalt hear new tidings, and else hast thou the fairest grace that many a year had ever knight that passed through this forest_.... _Then anon Sir Ector beat on the basin as he were wood_." Chapter I "_Ah, take the Cash, and let the Credit go_!" Steve Thompson had sold his cattle. El Paso is (was) the Monte Carlo of America. Therefore--The syllogism may he imperfectly stated, but the conclusion is sound. Perhaps there is a premise suppressed or overlooked somewhere. Cash in hand, well fortified with paving material, Thompson descended on the Gate City. At the expiration of thirty-six blameless hours he perceived that he was looking through a glass darkly, in the Business Man's Club, intently regarding a neatly-lettered placard which ambiguously advised all concerned in this wise: IF DRINKING INTERFERES WITH YOUR BUSINESS, STOP IT. A back-room door was opened. A burst of merriment smote across the loneliness. A head appeared. The tip of its nose quivered. "Hey, old-timer! Will you walk into my parlor?" it jeered. Steve walked over with dignity and firmly closed the door, closing it, through sheer inadvertence, from the inside. A shout of welcome greeted him. With one exception--the Transient--they were all old friends; the Stockman, the Judge, alike darkly attractive; the supple-handed Merchant, with curly hair and nose; and the strong quiet figure of the Eminent Person. A wight of high renown and national, this last, who had attained to his present bad Eminence through superior longevity. As he was still in the prime of life, it should perhaps be explained that his longevity was purely comparative, as contrasted with that of a number of gentlemen, eminent in the same line, who had been a trifle dilatory at critical moments, to them final. The Merchant, sometime Banker-by-night, as now, began evening up chip-stacks. "How much?" he queried. The Judge and the Eminent Person hitched along to make room between them. "I'm not playing to-night," Steve began. He was cut short by a torrent of scoffing advice and information. "Only one hundred to come in--all you got to get out." "Another victim!" "Bet 'em high and sleep in the streets!" "Table stakes. Cuter goes for aces and flushes." "Just give us what you can spare handy and go to bed. You'll save money and sleep." "Straight flush the best hand." "All ties go to the sweaters." "A man and his money are soon parted!" "You play the first hand for fun, and all the rest of the night to get even!" Thus, and more also, the Five in hilarious chorus. "Any man caught bluffing loses the pot," added the Eminent Person, gravely admonitory. "And a Lalla-Cooler can only be played once a night."