point about him is that he'll always find somebody to take care of him. It used to be me and Call, but right now it's you. That's fine and good, but it's no reason you should go out of business entirely. You can sell me a poke and still take care of Jake.'
Lorena knew that was true, as far as it went. Jake was not hard to take care of, and probably not hard to fool. It wouldn't enter his head that she would sell a poke, now that she had him. He had plenty of pride and not a little vanity. It was one of the things she liked about him. Jake thought well of his looks; he was not a dressy man, like Tinkersley, but he nonetheless took pains with his appearance and knew that women fancied him. She had never seen him mad, but she knew he would not like anyone to make light of him.
'I believe he'd shoot the man that touches me,' she said.
'I believe it too,' Lippy said. 'Jake's mighty partial to Lorie.'
'Hell, you're partial to her yourself,' Gus said. 'We're all partial to her. But Jake ain't exactly a killer.'
'He killed that man in Arkansas,' Lorena said.
Augustus shrugged. 'He fired off a buffalo gun and the bullet happened to hit a dentist,' he said. 'I don't call that no crime of passion.'
Lorena didn't like it that Gus acted like Jake wasn't much. He had a reputation for being a cool man in a fight.
'He kilt that bandit,' Lippy said. 'Hit him right in the Adam's apple, I've heard.'
'The truth of that is, the bandit rode into the bullet,' Augustus said. 'He was unlucky, like the dentist.'
Lorena just sat. The situation was so unexpected that she could not think about it clearly. Of course she had no intention of going upstairs with Gus, but he couldn't just be scared off with a look like some cowboy. Gus was not afraid of looks-or of Jake either, it seemed.
'I'll give you fifty dollars,' Gus said with a big grin.
Lippy nearly fell off his stool. He had never seen or imagined anything so rash. Fifty dollars for one poke? Then it occurred to him he would cheerfully give as much, if he had it, to get under Lorena's skirts. A man could always get more money, but there wasn't but one Lorie, not on the border, anyway.
'Hell, I would too,' he said, just to register the offer.
'I didn't know you was so rich,' Augustus said, a little amused.
'Well, I ain't now, but I might be,' Lippy said. 'Business is picking up.'
'Pshaw,' Augustus said. 'Once we start the drive you'll be lucky to earn a nickel in a month.'
Lorena decided her best out was to pretend to be frightened of Jake's vengeance, though now that she thought about it she knew Gus was probably right. She had met one or two men who were proven killers, and Jake didn't have their manner at all.
'I won't do it,' she said. 'He'll kill us if he finds out.'
'How would he find out?' Gus asked.
'Lippy might tell him,' she said.
Augustus looked at Lippy. It was true that the man was a dreadful gossip, and a gossip, moreover, who had scant materials to work with. It would not be easy for him to resist mentioning that he had heard a man offer fifty dollars for a poke.
'I'll give you ten dollars to keep your mouth shut,' Augustus said. 'And if you betray me I'll shoot another hole in your stomach.'
'Gimme the ten,' Lippy said, his astonishment growing. That made sixty dollars Gus would be spending. He had never heard of anyone spending such an amount on their pleasure, but then, so far as he knew, there was no one anywhere like Gus, a man who seemed to care nothing for money.
Gus handed over the money and Lippy pocketed it, knowing he had struck a bargain he had better keep, at least until Gus died. Gus was no one to fool with. He had seen several men try, usually over card games, and most all of them had got whacked over the head with Gus's big gun. Gus didn't shoot unless he had to, but he was not loath to whack a man. Lippy was dying to tell Xavier what he'd missed by going fishing, but he knew he had better postpone the pleasure for a few years. One hole in his stomach was enough.
Lorena felt her indignation growing. She was beginning to feel cornered, something she had not expected to have to feel again. Jake was supposed to have ended that, and yet he hadn't. Of course he probably never suspected his own friend would make such a move behind his back, and yet it still seemed negligent of him, for he knew Gus's ways.
'You can pay him if you want but I ain't going,' she said. 'Jake's my sweetheart.'
'I ain't trying to cut him out,' Augustus said. 'I just want a poke.'
Lorena felt her silence coming back. It was the only way to deal with such a situation. She sat for a few minutes, not talking, hoping he would go away. But it didn't work. He just sat and drank, perfectly friendly and in no hurry. Once she thought about it, the sum grew on her a little. It was something, to be offered fifty dollars. She would have thought it crazy in anyone except Gus, but Gus was clearly not crazy. In a way it was a big compliment that he would offer fifty dollars just for that.
'Go get a Mexican woman,' she said. 'Why waste your money?'
'Because you're my preference,' Augustus said. 'I'll tell you what, let's cut the cards. If you're high, I'll give you the money and forget the poke. If I'm high, I'll give you the money and you give me the poke.'
Lorena thought she might as well. After all, it was just gambling, which was what Jake did. If she won it would all seem like a joke, something that Gus had cooked up to pass the time. Besides, she would have fifty dollars and could send to San Antonio for some new dresses, so Jake wouldn't be so critical of her wardrobe. She could tell him she beat Gus to the tune of fifty dollars, which would astonish him, since he played with Gus all the time and seldom won more than a few dollars.
Then, in a second, Gus beat her. She came up with a ten of spades, and him with the queen of hearts. It was her sense that he'd cheated, though she couldn't have said how. She had not realized before what a determined man he was. He had come in for a purpose and she had not been clever enough to head him off. He paid her the fifty dollars at once-it had not been a bluff. When he had had the poke and was dressing, she found that she felt pretty cheerful and was not in a mood to hurry him out. After all, Gus had paid her many visits and given her nothing to hold against him. The fifty dollars was flattering, and she rather liked it that she was his preference even though he was Jake's best friend. She had stopped feeling silent and was content to let him loll for a few minutes.
'Well, do you and Jake aim to marry?' he asked, looking at her cheerfully.
'He ain't mentioned it,' she said. 'He's taking me to San Francisco, though.'
Augustus snorted. 'I figured that was his game,' he said.
'He promised,' Lorena said. 'I mean to hold him to it, Gus.'
'You'll need my help then,' Augustus said. 'Jake is a slippery eel. The only way to keep him around is to chain him to a wagon.'
'I can keep him around,' Lorena said confidently.
'Oh, he fancies you,' Augustus said. 'But that don't mean he'll stay around. My guess is he'll use the drive as an excuse when the time comes.'
'If he goes with it, then I'm going too,' she said.
'Why, Lorie, you're welcome, as far as I'm concerned,' Augustus said. 'The problem is Call. He ain't very tolerant of women.'
That was no news. Captain Call was one of the few men in the region who had never been to visit her. In fact, so far as she could remember, he had never been in the saloon.
'It's a free country, ain't it?' she said. 'I guess I can go where I want.'
Gus got off the bed and tucked his carrot back in his pants.
'It's not very free if you happen to work for Call,' he said.
'You think Lippy will tell on us?' she asked. To her surprise, she felt no guilt at all about operating behind Jake's back. So far as she was concerned she was still his sweetheart. It had happened only because Gus had been too quick for her in a card game-it didn't affect the situation one way or another.
'He won't tell,' Augustus said. 'Lippy's got more sense than you might think. What he figures is that if he keeps quiet he might make another ten dollars sometime. Which is right. He might.'
'Well, not unless we play a hand,' Lorena said. 'I don't trust your cut.'
Augustus grinned. 'A man who wouldn't cheat for a poke don't want one bad enough,' he said as he took his
