"Father—" the girl began, but old Sam shook his head.
"No. This is my case bet, and I'm going to watch it."
Royal's weazened face puckered until it resembled more than ever a withered apple. "Then I'll stick, too," he declared. "I never laid down on you yet, Sam."
"How about you, Letty?"
The girl smiled. "Why, I wouldn't trust you boys out of my sight for a minute. Something would surely happen."
Kirby stooped and kissed his daughter's cheek. "You've always been our mascot, and you've always brought us luck. I'd go to hell in a paper suit if you were along. You're a game kid, too, and I want you to be like that, always. Be a thoroughbred. Don't weaken, no matter how bad things break for you. This cargo of rum is worth the best claim in Dawson, and it'll put us on our feet again. All I want is one more chance. Double and quit—that's us."
This was an extraordinarily long speech for "One-armed" Kirby; it showed that he was deeply in earnest.
"Double and quit?" breathed the girl. "Do you mean it, dad?"
He nodded: "I'm going to leave you heeled. I don't aim to take my eyes off this barge again till she's in Dawson."
Rouletta's face was transformed; there was a great gladness in her eyes—a gladness half obscured by tears. "Double and quit. Oh—I've dreamed of—quitting—so often! You've made me very happy, dad."