“ ‘Well, what in blue blazes has that got to do with it?’ says Pearsall.
“ ‘Why, if I straddled I get the age,’ says Hapgood, an’ the boys was struck dumb for a minute or so.
“Finally, Bassett he caught his breath, an’ he says, ‘Is that in the book?’
“ ‘Why, certainly,’ says Hapgood, an’ just then his keeper come in with the book in his hand. It was a monstrous pretty little red book, too, with a fancy cover an’ gilt edges on the leaves.
“Well, Bassett he were gettin’ sort o’ weak by this time, but he managed to say, ‘I ain’t doubtin’ your word, stranger, but this here is kind o’ strong liquor for us. We ain’t used to it. Don’t you think you’re mistaken? Do you think that any man that knowed enough about poker to write a book about it would put that in?’
“ ‘Well, it’s right here,’ says Hapgood, opening the book. ‘It’s law 44 in the International Code. You’ll see it on page 100. It says: “The straddle transfers the age from the ante man to the straddler,” ’ and he read it and showed it.
“The boys looked at one another for a little, as if nobody could say anything, an’ I reckon they couldn’t right away, but finally Bassett he spoke up, an’ he says: ‘We’ve started to play this here game accordin’ to the rules, an’ I reckon we’d better see it through for one deal, anyhow. Pearsall, it’s your bet.’
“Pearsall he looked kind o’ faint, but he throwed in a chip, an’ Winterbottom seed it, an’ Bassett he come in, an’ Hapgood he raised it ten. Then the boys seen their duty, an’ they done it for fair. The chips was a dollar, an’ Pearsall he raised it twenty, an’ Winterbottom he raised it forty, an’ Bassett he raised it eighty, makin’ about half a million dollars on the table. Hapgood he throwed down his cards, an’ Pearsall an’ Winterbottom did likewise, so nobody found out what anybody had.
“The next deal was about the same story, on’y they all come in, an’ after they’d coaxed Hapgood along till he’d put up a fair-sized stake, they doubled upon him four times instead of three, an’ he throwed down again.
“That brought it up to Hapgood’s deal, an’ I reckon he must ha’ been a little rattled, seein’ how he wa’n’t likely to get much of a show, for instead o’ dealin’ cards to all five players he on’y dealt out four hands. O’ course, they all seen what he was doin’, but they kind o’ watched him to see if it wa’n’t some new sort of a trick out o’ that book o’ his’n, an’ when he finished nobody moved to pick up his cards. An’ still Hapgood didn’t seem to notice nothin’ out o’ the way, so Bassett spoke up very mild an’ subdued like, ‘Ain’t that a misdeal, stranger? You haven’t dealt Winterbottom any cards. He’s in the game, ain’t he?’