“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.”