The New Boys at Oakdale Part 8

"Well, just to keep the pikers out," announced Hooker, "I'll give it another lift." And he did.

Cooper whistled. "That's about all I can do for my little measly ante,"

he remarked. "I've got a small pair, but you chaps are making it too stiff for me. I'll drop out."

"Well, really," murmured Osgood, who had placed his cards face downward before him, "this begins to look like some poker game. I'll raise ten."

Piper swallowed and hesitated again. "What do you fellows think you're doing before the draw?" he inquired, with a touch of whimsicality. "I've just _got_ to come in."

"You don't raise, eh?" questioned Shultz.

"No, I'm satisfied."

"I'm more than sus-satisfied," faltered Springer. "This is ruinous, but I suppose I'm partly to blame. I'll stay." He put in the amount needed to make himself level.

"Wait a minute, Hooker," said Shultz, perceiving that Roy was nervously fingering his chips. "It's my turn. You boosted me, and now I'm coming back with another limit raise."

Hooker found that he did not have enough chips, and so before betting he procured another dollar's worth from Osgood. Then he raised Shultz.

"Oh, my!" sang Cooper. "I'm glad-I'm glad I staid out. It cost me only my little snow-white ante."

"H'm!" said Osgood, picking up his cards and glancing at them. "It seems that it's going to cost me more than that. There's a pair of Indians sitting over at the other side of the table. Well, fellows, I'm coming.

I'm playing on your money, and you're welcome to take it away from me if you can."

At this point Piper, suddenly getting cold feet, dropped his two pairs.

"I'm out," he said. "This sort of raising before the draw makes it too stiff for me."

Springer seemed to be perspiring freely, and his hands were not quite steady. "If it's a game of dud-dud-drive out," he said, "I'm going to stick to the last gug-gasp. Here I go. That makes me level."

Without saying a word, Shultz pushed out two blue chips.

"Do you raise again, Charley?" asked Osgood.

"Money talks," was the answer; "I put in two blue ones."

Hooker immediately raised again, whereupon Cooper chuckled still more gleefully over his cleverness in declining to be drawn in to defend his ante.

Osgood and Springer met the raise, and Shultz, after giving Hooker a slantwise glance, pushed out a final blue one and announced that he was "content."

"Very well," said Roy, picking up the pack. "Call for your cards."

"I'll take one," said Osgood.

Springer called for two, and, glancing over Phil's shoulder, Piper saw what he held.

"Why, he had me beat," thought Sleuth. "What can those other fellows hold?"

"How many do you want, Shultz?" asked Hooker.

"I'll play these," was the announcement.

"And I'll play mine without drawing," said Roy, a touch of excitement creeping into his voice in spite of himself.

"Fine! fine!" laughed Osgood. "I had a fine chance, didn't I! You've got all of my chips that you'll get. I'm going to drop."

Springer swallowed once more. "Gee!" he breathed. "I cuc-can't drop; I've got to bet. I make it a white chip."

Shultz and Hooker did some betting that caused Springer's eyes to bulge.

"Great fish-hooks!" spluttered Phil. "You're a pup-pup-pair of robbers!

Guess I've been fool enough. I'll lay down, too."

Shultz gave the player at his left a long, hard look. "I wonder if you're trying to bluff," he speculated.

"You'll find out presently," answered Roy.

"I ought to raise it again, but I'm going to call, and here's my hand.

Can you beat it?"

"The pot is mine," said Hooker, spreading out his cards for all to see.

"My cards are better." He reached out with both hands and raked the pile of chips toward him.

"Well, of all infernal luck!" snarled Shultz, flinging his cards fiercely down upon the table. "I thought my flush was good. It looks queer to me. You dealt the cards, Hooker."

Instantly Roy bridled. "What do you mean by that? I hope you don't insinuate that there was anything crooked about that deal? You cut."

"I know I did, but some fellows can--"

"Hold on, Charley," interrupted Osgood. "There's no one here that's going to play crooked. You haven't any right to think such a thing. I was watching, and I'll guarantee the deal was on the level."

"Oh, well, if you guarantee it--"

"You might apologize, Shultz," said Hooker, his voice hard and his face full of wrath.

"Now don't _you_ fly off the handle, Roy, old fellow," entreated Osgood.

"You see, Charley has had rotten luck, and he didn't really realize what he was saying. Come on, let's play the game like gentlemen. You didn't mean it, did you, Charley?"

"No, I guess I didn't," said Shultz, with apparent reluctance. "I was half-joking. Forget it, Hooker."

"All right," agreed Roy readily enough. "That little pot sort of put me on my feet, and I'm not anxious to make a disturbance."

The tension of the moment relaxed somewhat, and the game was resumed, Cooper giving out the cards.

Piper was heartily glad that Hooker had won, and he felt that Roy was generous in his willingness to overlook Shultz's innuendo. He believed that an encounter between the two boys had been narrowly averted.

For some ten or fifteen minutes the game went on smoothly, nothing but small hands coming out, which produced little betting. Eventually, however, four "fighting hands" were dealt, and Piper and Springer sat back to watch the others, dropping their cards. There were a number of raises before the draw, in all of which Hooker and Shultz took part.

As if they felt that it was to be a serious struggle, none of the players ventured to jest or make many comments.

Cooper remained in until the cards were drawn and then he dropped out.