Free West Of Dodge (Ss) (1996) by Louis L'amour

winnin'?" Johnny asked dryly.
    The redhead's flush was deeper. "Well," he said guiltily, "he ain't been holdin' much. Right now he's losin'."
    "How much has he lost?"
    Red hesitated, then swallowed. "Right at a thousand dollars," he confessed, "maybe a mite over."
    Johnny Sutton's right eyebrow tightened. The man did not look like he had a thousand cents, much less dollars. "Did he have that much, little lady?"
    "You bet he did!" the girl flashed back at him. "And more, if these blisterin' pickpockets haven't stole it off him!"
    Red looked abused, and he let go of the drunken man who slumped over on the table.
    "Whose deal is it?" Johnny asked suddenly.
    Their eyes were puzzled and wary. "Mine." The speaker was a lean-faced man marked with evil and crookedness.
    "All right," Johnny said calmly, "you boys like this game. You started it. Now deal, and don't let any of your mistakes keep him from winning back his money."
    "Now, look here--!" The tall man started to rise but Johnny's left hand dropped to his shoulder and slammed him back in his chair.
    "Deal!" Sutton insisted. If he chose to make a fight of it, the result might mean a lot less crime in that part of Texas.
    Grudgingly, the man began to deal. It was noteworthy that from that moment the drunken man began to win. Red, devilish in his glee and enjoyment of the reversed situation, bet the old man's hands recklessly. When thirty minutes had passed the tall man glanced at Sutton. "There, now. He's won it all back!" He dropped his hands to the table and started to push back.
    "Deal." Johnny's voice was flat and dangerous. "Deal those cards. An' Red, you bet 'em like you see 'em! I like the way you play poker."
    "He's got all his money, I tell you!" The tall man's face was wolfish. "I'll be damned if I--!"
    Johnny Sutton's eyes fastened on the man, and they seemed to grow flat and lose their shine. With his free hand he reached out and swept all the money from in front of the players into the middle of the table. "You shuffle the cards, fast boy. You like it that way. Shuffle the cards, then you cut for high card with him. Winner takes all!"
    "Don't do it, Chiv!" The speaker was a bearded man with a hard set to his jaw. "He can't get away with this!"
    "You open your face again," Johnny said calmly, "an' you'll have a mouthful of loose teeth. Shuffle those cards, Chiv. This will teach all of you a lesson you'll remember next time you try to take a harmless old man who's just passin' through! Shuffle an' cut!"
    The man looked at the cards with sudden distaste, then, belligerently, he looked up at Sutton. "This time I cut as I want, and it's on the level," he said. "If the old man wins he gets it all, an' if I win, I do."
    The girl started forward with a cry of protest, but Sutton waved her back. "All right," he agreed, "but with your permission I'll cut for him." Sutton jerked a thumb toward the old man.
    The gambler looked up and his hard eyes brightened with malice. "Why, sure! You cut for him!" He gathered the cards and shuffled them briefly, then slapped the deck on the table and took hold with his thumb and middle finger. "Okay?" he asked, and at Johnny's nod, he cut the cards and showed a queen of hearts, and smiled.
    Johnny leaned over and shaped the deck with his fingers, then struck them slightly and split the deck.
    At the cut, the gambler's face went white with fury and he grasped the arms of his chair, staring at the ace of clubs Sutton was showing. "Your own deck," Sutton said quietly.
    "Lady," Sutton slid suddenly to his feet and stepped back from the table, "pick up the money. Tie it up in something and we'll leave." His black eyes held the gambler's. "Next time," he advised, "don't use a deck with slick aces."
    The Passing of The gambler stared at him, his face taut with hatred and pent-up fury.
    As the girl moved toward the door, Johnny Sutton looked the room over, letting each man feel the weight of his attention. "If that girl is bothered again, or if there