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MY FRIEND THE GAMBLER. .

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MY FRIEND THE GAMBLER. It was in the winter of 1890. The new branch railroad into Pliuenix, Ans., had been running trains for two years, and in-! valkds of th« ea&t were just beginnii.g +o team that this metropolis of the south- *»«st&rn dtesert land, with its dry air and abundant sunshine, afforded the finest winter climate on the continent. At the time I write the one train a day on the little branch railroad connecting with the main line of the Southern Pacific was well loaded every day. and the hotels and boarding-houses were striving in every way to accommodate the influx of winter visitors. As is usual in most new western towns, especially of the inner-mountain region, hotel accommodation were only mediocre, .whie the best restaurants were those connected with the big gambling-houses. J? or several days I had noticed, a new- comer about the hotels and principal resorts of the town. His face had a strangely famiUar look to me, yet I could not reoai; that I had ever seen it before. He was faultlessly dressed in clothes of the latest I pattern, had a blonde moustache, and but for Jiis pecuiar litti have pronot,,u,i I -e g-ey, 2y-s I slioui'd Iiim a very bdlyl -Isonie inan. ]He -enied t(, te a tot?i! and, m I -f)u-l?d -e hitn if an after-?lool aroupd the Commercial HOlli., or in the evening w-atchin^ the games m "The Canito!" or '"The .Paiace,' and never talking with any one, I mentally -t him down as the son and heir of some wealthy family who had sought a winter home in the desert that he mig-bt return in the spring a "new man," I suppose I had noticed him for about a week or ten days before either he or I had the temerity to address the other. I don't, know now which of us spoke rirst, but any- ■way it came about in that free, open-handed •way of addressing a stranger nhich prevail in the sout'h and west. I had been snap- shooting that day, and returning rather df in the evening went down to "The Palace" restaurant for my dinner in my huntinc suit rather than disturb the folks "at home° with getting me a. Istte meal. An o!d California comrade had been with me ah any, and after ordering our dinner we went out to the bar to trv one of Frank's cocktail. l,'i-arik bv the av (or Francuis, w I -iiioti?d call liin;, a; he w!?ts Frencti), was a comparatively new-comer from Orleans, and as a mixologist exceeded anything ever before seen in Arizona. At least, so all the boys about town said. and the old Hassay- ftmpas re-edboed their sentiment with a hearty "that's w'hat." My comrade and' I had disposed of the first conoootaon and were -discussing- the question of another of its same splendid quahty, when the stranger spoke of the superior excellence of Frank's iiixtures. I don't know how it came about, but presently one or the other of us said in the most brotherly iashion, "Won't you join us?" to which the reply came. "The pleasure is mine," and, of course, it wound up bv the pleasure belonging to both of us before we again re- paired to the dining-room. Our newly-iound acquaintance had ordered his dinner aobout the same time as mv com- rade and myielf, go all sat down to the same table. I felt rather honoured at this attention of the stranger, for in all my obser- vations (if him I lk;id never before noticed him talking with any other Phoenician. He had a voice as soft and smooth as a woman s. an: i as he talked his language indicated the polished graduate of Ya>le or Havard with a finish of European travel. Now. thought r. I will learn something hi this man-where he is from and who he is As the meal programed I had occasion to ask him to and me the pepper. A he did 80 he commented upon the fact that mf) of the uiack pepper serv«>] on retaurant tai, wag not pepper at *11, but a wr.^Iomeration of dried leaves and drugs, much cheaper thau the ?enume article. His talk was learned, «ven classical, using medical terms and for- mulae with the familiarity of a chemist, From test he drifted on to places to n( the winter, and incidentally referred to the »ct that tlie last "three winters previous to this one he had spent on the Riviera A question about Nice and Monaco seemed to encourage li,m, and he went on with a glow- ing description of these famous resorts. \nd oh what ? glorious drive it 's alon,, the Corniche Road," be CUnTi-nued' ,with the never-ending panorama of bav and sky with all their various tints and the magnificent Piountam background, there is nothing in America, and I believe nothing in the world, to equal it. Then San Reno and Bordizhera J are pretty little resorts, and the visitor makes «k mistake who does not spend a portion of XU3 time there. "I suppose you also visited Genoa," I interrupted. ,^T' was the reply. "In xa A spent Dearly thr^e months last" winter at Cannes, and made the derive to Genoa eeveral timtl-l with coaching parties. Too You flave r,,r4t. splenflid drives here. NV?,al wifh su,-h a-4 long as La RiN-iera. (3,i this woliderful drv a'r and beautiful ,winter stiu,-4hiiie Anzf).na, 'oulck S,)On I)eeu,me w t-he )3m%test resort i 'n t'?e world. In this strain he went on, and I suppose tvt' 'lla-d !en at the table nearly ,v jiours whe -n a came in fron'. -,iiy the Surget>n-Gei leral. say?n, I, had just been c4lled on for aii iinport ilut' surgical case, ;ind if I -ould nc?'. &?L-ollipjllv firn Iani ;ad-4tninister ilie anaestlietic. Vlv' Calif,)rltia .,Iour?t,-ade an?'? mvse:f voted -)u? new-foun(_i acquaipta,i)ce ?t 6,t charming mati ;,no a |capital feliow generally, though afterwards I L remarked to mvs-Af that I had not as yet sfound out anything about where he came from or who he was. Busy for the next few days I thought but vlittle more of this entertaining stranger. About a -week later, however, I dropped mto^ l"he PaJace, just t-o see who was there, and ithe stranger, quiet and uncommunicative as ,usual, was watching the games, never stand- ing over any one table lor more than two or three minutes at a time. From here I stepped into The Capitol, and Bert, the head man, cot being busy. I began a conver- eation with him. Presently the well-dressed t stranger came in. and I noticed Bert's eyes take on a rather dtefiant flash as he watched him pass to the rear of the room. "Bert, who is that me.n? I asked. "I've seen him about for some time now, but he never seems to spea.k to anyone. He must lite some Easterner here for the winter, isn t he r" "Why. don't yo:: know that fel'lc.v ?"' was the quick response. "He knows better than to speak to me: he's the btenk of a blank who killed Jim Fallon in Prescot five years ago why, you remember his murder, don't I you. General?" "No. I don t recn.ll it, Bert. That was when I was in Montana, and I reckon the trial and all took place before my return. "'V..H, it was the most cowardly murder I <.ver knew, and if that duck had his deserts ,ni)'d have stretched hemp for :t .long ago. You knew Fallon, of course, who used to run .'v 'bank' In Tombstone, and aftsi the flush dSays there he moved to Prescott?" i nodded assent, and iie er.t on: "This feliow. Jack Underbill. 'Thimble Jack,' wno ■wm nothing but a low-down tiD-horn,' any- way. got full one naght ana raised such a disturbance at Fallon's table that he finally got up anu kicked him out of the house. L nderhtit was furious over this method' of objection, and for several days went around threa.ten.ilW that h-e was mg tu get, eYn 'it'h :Falk. Son of .Jim's friend:> tol-u 111m ;e h-a.d better look out for 'Thimbie Ja.ck.' 'I :t.S he was a treacherous cuo>¡S ,aDd\\ul, I?ru :baoblv st<Aob hIm m t.he, ba.-c¡, Blv ,t ,Jur. ¡ la..u,Ït.e«1 dot them. dechmng that .JaK was, too"'big <.I Cloward! to a.ttack a duhl, let. <i,loue » man. f t "S the matter r.a.n along or a.l-D10S a week :¡.nd ;J;:w-ly everyone hYl f")l"$tten a.boœt jt, w'hn 000 ignt abo,ut n. F '1 W" "ndlng bv tne bar ",Jkln6! a.> <L- (}n l" h h' t.osome íl'ie., this cowa.I'Jy dog :'I ot ,1m in the back without the shghst wft:nng,. :In the oonfusion he ma.n,:ge-d to get ,I,l'y J 1 i<1 'n the }¡()us-e of a trclJl! woma.n, 'lalk lvCh.tng 'was o gtI?ng th,xt day th, "sneaked ovr to t¡:0 S'entf >i I)ffiœ a 1 1f up }'aJl(m J.iuQ'ered a1.,ng for ye i¡¡.nsc. t''hI'l'è wœk. 1)p.fol'e he (helL. 'Iv "When the tri.w C'ù.me, t!us f.e,]]ow s faIDI. f \1'" 'ricnd-s or me m the ('1' seIOO I, u.. 1 h ha.d }' ut up the money für llwl, allo( e P, d()Z-PD of the bet J,'1." a, 'n the South. 'm;n:ll ;n:rs 1 _1 C!"1 '¡ f d', l' 'him. For myself, I "wys wC6t ({'t en ..¡'" { .t fo,. tl.. ir rv was tamp ere< WI II. I,. cj¡e"e L 'b' t 'n a. vel'diet of m:lIJ- t.Y 01lly ug1 l?ot" eDtænce for 'ht''f a,n, 1 JJ mp y d' b' U. s. d w'f¡;¡t w=bh <'00 t.lme S 0 J fivo ';a.r6, -an for no on na self-respecting white man like you ever wants to speak to such a cowardly dog as him." And so this was my entertainer of a. few evenings before. Then it dawned upon me why his face had always seemed familiar to me. As a territorial official I had often visited the penitentiary at Yuma, and here I had seen my friend of the Riviera, my friend the gambler,

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