“Go ahead and deal.”
Angel hesitated.
“This is foolishness, old man. If I shoot yuh, they’ll hang me for murder. Lila’s upstairs.”
“She don’t know you’re here.”
“But the shot would wake her up.”
“How long do yuh think it’ll take yuh to get away? You talk as though yuh already had the ace of spades. I’ll take my chances. Go ahead and deal.”
Angel shuddered slightly. It was all so ridiculous, this idea of dealing for the first shot. But the old man did not seem to mind. There was not a tremor in the gnarled hand that rested on the old table-top.
“Go ahead and deal, you coward,” he said coldly.
With a flick of his fingers the gambler threw the first two cards—ace of hearts, six of clubs. There were fifty more cards in the deck.
King, jack. It was the king of spades.