Caleb nodded.
“How many are we talking about?” Steve asked.
“How about all of them?”
[26]
When Doc walked into Thompson’s Varieties, everyone knew he was there for the big game being held by Bret Weeks. Doc was dressed in one of his finely tailored black suits with a gold watch chain crossing his midsection. His wide-brimmed hat fit perfectly on his head and was tipped in a friendly manner to everyone he passed. The holster under his arm was just as much a part of his attire as the string tie around Doc’s neck. While a few of the locals turned their noses up at seeing their town’s dentist walking the streets heeled, they’d started to shrug it off more and more lately.
“Evening, Doc,” said the burly man working the door. “Mr. Weeks is saving a spot for ya.”
“Good to know,” Doc said cheerily. “Have a bottle sent over for me.”
“Will do.”
As Doc made his way to the table at the back of the room, he picked out several familiar faces. One of those belonged to Weeks, himself, who was flanked by a few of his hired guns. Another was Steve Wright, who seemed to have regained his sunny disposition and even tossed Doc a wave the moment he caught sight of him.
“Howdy, Doc,” Steve said.
Doc nodded and took his seat. “Glad to see you haven’t lost your enterprising spirit, Steve.”
“Hopefully I’ll win back the rest of my money tonight.”
Winking, Doc said, “Not if I have anything to say about it.”
Weeks chuckled confidently and motioned to the other man at the table. “Have you met Jack Vermillion?”
Doc looked across at the man sitting beside Weeks. Jack Vermillion was well dressed but still looked more like a cowboy wearing his Sunday best than a professional gambler who was born to wear a dark, expensive suit. Jack’s upper lip was covered with a bushy mustache, and his dark, close-set eyes were intently focused upon Doc’s face.
“I don’t believe so,” Doc said as he nodded in Jack’s direction. “Pleased to make your acquaintance.”
“Same here,” Jack replied. “You’d be the dentist I heard about? Holliday, is it?”
“Right on both accounts.”
“Well, I’ve got an ache in my jaw that’s been killing me for a few months now. Maybe you could take a look at it. That is, if you don’t harbor no bad feelings after I win all yer money.”
Doc nodded, but in a disinterested way that was half-formality and half-excuse to look in another direction.
“Are we ready to play?” Jack asked. “Or are we waiting for someone else to fill this seat?”
“I believe that someone has just arrived,” Weeks said.
Just then, Caleb approached the table and pulled out the last remaining chair between Steve and Weeks. He sat down and introduced himself to Jack Vermillion while nodding politely to everyone else. Everyone, that is, except for Weeks.
“I didn’t think you’d actually show,” Weeks said.
Caleb looked over and replied, “Why wouldn’t I? Should I expect you to cheat in your own place?”
Weeks let out a short, grunting laugh. “I’m just here for a friendly game. Surely no one is anxious to cheat at anything after all the attention that type of thing has gotten lately.”
“There is a bright side to that nonsense,” Doc said. “Everyone’s been going on about how grand the new courthouse is, and I’ll be getting a guided tour of that very place in a few days.”
“A guided tour?” Jack asked.
After taking a sip of his drink, Doc nodded. “My hearing is scheduled for the twenty-second of this month.”
It took a moment for Jack to realize that Doc wasn’t kidding. Once that sank in, he slapped the table and let out a loud laugh. “Well, with this sort of company to keep, this should be one hell of a night!”
Weeks grinned and shuffled the cards. “Mister, you don’t know the half of it.”
Weeks dealt the cards, and the game got rolling. After just a few hands, the five men around the table adopted a kind of friendly rivalry.
Jack Vermillion was quick to joke whether he won or lost.
Doc’s disposition rarely faltered from his normal, easygoing manner. The more he drank, the thicker his accent became. Even so, his hands remained unwavering as they tossed out and raked in money as though it wasn’t anything but so much meaningless paper.
Steve played frugally at first but soon loosened up after winning a few hands. Even as he joked and laughed right along with Doc and Jack, he couldn’t hide the beads of sweat that worked their way down his face as the stakes began to slowly creep their way out of his range.
It was a process that resembled the growth of a tree. While it couldn’t be seen by someone staring at every flip of the card or counting the money in front of each player, the game grew all the same. After enough time had passed, the sapling had developed thick branches and sprouted a thick mess of leaves.
“I’ll raise four hundred,” Doc said in the same tone of voice that he’d called a ten-dollar raise less than three hours ago.
“Four hundred?” Jack asked. “Make it five.”
Once Jack had pushed in the necessary amount, Weeks took a gander at his cards and then laid them down in front of him. “Five sounds like a good number.” He looked at Doc and spotted a subtle nod that be’d been waiting for the entire night. Glancing over to Caleb, he said, “But I was thinking more along the lines of five thousand.” With that, Weeks pushed in a quarter of the considerable stack that looked more like a wall in front of him.
Caleb and Weeks hadn’t said much to each other the whole night, but there wasn’t much tension between them. That is, there wasn’t until that very moment. Peeling up his cards so he could take another look at them, Caleb kept his face completely blank. The first two cards, nine of diamonds and four of clubs, weren’t pretty. The ace of hearts didn’t do much to bolster his spirits, but those last two cards looked awfully good since they were both nines as well.
“I’ll see your five thousand,” Caleb said as he pushed in just under half of his own stack, “plus another two thousand.”
By now, there was no way short of a mop for Steve to hide the sweat pouring off his face. Still, he managed to look down at his cards without letting them slip through his trembling fingers and push in the appropriate amount of money. In front of him, there was now just about enough to pay for a steak dinner. “I’d like to call, but my wife would have my scalp if I lost again.”
“This is a friendly game,” Weeks said. “Put in what you’ve got, and the rest of us can fight for the rest. You’ll still stand to double your money.”
Although Steve seemed tempted, he set his cards down and pushed them away. “Maybe next time.”
Staring down at his cards, Doc had as much emotion on his face as he might show while picking out his socks. With a shrug, he tossed his cards down.
“Too rich for your blood?” Jack teased.
“Make the call yourself,” Doc said. “Then you can flap your lips at me.”
Jack’s eyes darted back and forth between his cards. He then turned his attention to Weeks and the hungry look in that man’s eyes. From there, Jack glanced down at the pile of money in front of Weeks, which made his own stack look pathetic in comparison. “To hell with it,” Jack grunted. “A man can’t be shoved around in this game.” With those words still hanging in the air, he shoved in all of his money. “That covers the bet plus another . . . fifty- eight hundred I reckon.”
“Count it,” Caleb said.
Jack was only off by twenty-nine dollars and nodded proudly at his maneuver.
