Pony up now." "Bent Wade, did you come over calkilated to git skinned ?" queried Bludsoe.
"Boys, I was playin' poker tolerable well in Missouri when you all was nursin'," replied Wade, imperturbably.
"I heerd he was a card-sharp," said Jim.

"Wal, grab a box or a chair to set on an' let's start.

Come along, Jack; you don't look as keen to play as usual." Belllounds stood with his back to the fire and his manner did not compare favorably with that of the genial cowboys.
"I prefer to play four-handed," he said.
This declaration caused a little check in the conversation and put an end to the amiability.

The cowboys looked at one another, not embarrassed, but just a little taken aback, as if they had forgotten something that they should have remembered.
"You object to my playin' ?" asked Wade, quietly.
"I certainly do," replied Belllounds.
"Why, may I ask ?" "For all I know, what Montana said about you may be true," returned Belllounds, insolently.
Such a remark flung in the face of a Westerner was an insult.

The cowboys suddenly grew stiff, with steady eyes on Wade.