Goustwhite was screaming in pain, but he was mindful of the revolver muzzle rammed up under his chin.
One or two of the other players called out for Longarm to do something, to stop Austin Davis from killing the man. But Longarm simply watched. He had the feeling that Davis knew what he was doing and was doing it on purpose.
Goustwhite said in a high, wailing voice, “You’ve broke my arm! You crazy sonofabitch, you’ve broke my arm plumb off!”
Davis jabbed him harder with the muzzle of his pistol. “Move your damn hand, Amos. I’ll give you one more warning. Get it off them cards or I’ll break something else.”
Still moaning and crying, Goustwhite reached across his body with his left hand, picked up his right arm and hand, and laid them carefully on the table before him. He looked up at the ceiling, his eyes shut against the pain. He said, “Marshal, the man nearly has kilt me! I want him arrested.”
Austin Davis slowly lowered his revolver and transferred it to his left hand. He kept the muzzle dug in Goustwhite’s side and said, “This man has been making a false cut. I noticed him at it last night. But I waited until now, when Marshal Long was here, to call him on it.”
Davis had the other players’ attention. He said, “He give me the cards to cut. I cut them. But just as he went to put them back together, he called our attention away from the table. I pretended to look, but instead, I was watching his hand. He put the cards back together exactly as they had been before he shuffled them. I think he stacked the cards before the cut, while he was shuffling. When he put them back the same way he left them set up to deal himself a good hand. He had already called for five-card draw. I will be greatly surprised if he don’t have at least three of a kind. In fact, if he doesn’t, I’ll give him five hundred dollars. That sound fair?”
The other men were nodding. Longarm didn’t say anything. Davis looked at him. “Well, Marshal?”
Longarm shrugged. “Why don’t you let him whack you across the forearm with his pistol?”
Davis grinned, his eyes dancing. “Instead of the five hundred or in addition to it?”
“In addition to it.”
“Fine.”
One of the players said, “Hell, deal them out. Let us see.”
Goustwhite suddenly made a sound and tried to rise. “I got to go see a doctor. I feel awful.”
Davis jabbed him hard with his revolver. “Sit down, Amos. That blow on your arm is at least three feet from your heart. You’ll live.”
Goustwhite slowly settled back in his chair, but he cradled his hurt forearm to his chest and rocked slowly back and forth, moaning as he did.
“Turn those cards, Davis,” Longarm said.
Austin Davis put out his right hand to the deck. It had shuffled off a little, and he squared it with nimble fingers. Then he began dealing the cards around. On the first card, dealing from Goustwhite’s position, Goustwhite drew a king. On the second round of cards Goustwhite drew another king. The players were slowly starting to cuss.
As Davis dealt the third round Goustwhite again tried to rise. The man on his other side put his hand on Goustwhite’s shoulder and shoved him back in the chair. He said, “Sit down. Let’s see what that third card is.”
On the third card Goustwhite drew a third king. Austin Davis stopped and slouched back in his chair. He slowly transferred his revolver to his right hand and then shoved the pistol home in its holster. He said, “Any point in dealing on? He’s kind of a clumsy crook. I don’t reckon he could have stacked the deck any deeper than three down. But three of a kind will win most pots in draw poker.”
One of the men looked at Longarm. “What had we ought to do, Marshal?”
Longarm shrugged. “I’m not a marshal right now. My badge is in my pocket. I’m just a poker player.”
Austin Davis said, “I know what to do. He cheated to win money. Now he is going to lose it for the same reason.” He reached over in front of Goustwhite and picked up the man’s stake.
Between groans, Goustwhite looked around and said, almost sobbing, “Some of that is my start money. They is seventy dollar of my own money in thar’.”
Austin Davis was undeterred. He said, “About what you won last night.”
He glanced up at Goustwhite. “Now I wish to hell I’d hit you harder. You damn near won as much as I did last night, and that irritates the hell out of me.”
Goustwhite said, clutching his arm, “Who says you didn’t cheat?”
Davis fixed him with a look. “You are a damn fool. The day I have to cheat to beat the likes of you is the day I quit poker. Now get the hell out of here, before I quit being so merciful.”
Goustwhite slowly stood up. But before he could move Davis shot out his left hand and grabbed a fistful of the man’s shirt. He pulled Goustwhite back a little and said, “Listen, Amos, when you get to the middle of the room I want you to sing out and announce to the crowd that you are a card cheat. You don’t, I’m liable to break your other damn arm.”
Goustwhite looked back at him, his face filled with pain and hate. He jerked his shirt loose and started making his way through the crowd.
Longarm said to Davis, “I’ll bet you ten dollars he doesn’t do it.”
Davis gave him a small smile. “I don’t care if he does or not. Within an hour everyone will know he’s crooked.”
“You’ve made an enemy I reckon.”
Davis smiled. “So has he.” Then he turned to the money. He counted it swiftly. “Looks like a hundred and thirty-five.” He started peeling off money and dropping it in front of each man. He said, “That’s twenty-five apiece for the four of you and thirty-five for me because I caught him and because that’s the easiest way to divide it up.” He laughed.
Longarm looked at the bills in front of him. He pushed them back to the middle of the table. “That ain’t mine. He didn’t win nothing off me. I only been here for a couple of hands.”
Davis looked at him. “No, but he won it off you last night. He was doing the same thing. I just wasn’t sure until tonight.”
Longarm looked at him evenly. “Nevertheless,” he said. He left the twenty-five dollars where it was. In the middle of the pot.
Austin Davis said, “Do I gather that you disapproved of what I done, Marshal?”
Longarm turned his eyes full on the man. “Mister Davis, when you do something I disapprove of, you won’t have to ask.”
Davis challenged him back. “Then why don’t you take the money? You figure you are better than us?”
“You, for sure. The others I don’t know about. Maybe I’m just angry because I didn’t catch the bastard. The money is in the pot. We’ll play for it this hand. I’ll win it anyway. Just like I intend to have most of your money before the night is out. Now deal, dammit.”
Austin Davis laughed low in his throat. “You may get some of my money, but not the way you play poker.”
Longarm leaned back in his chair. “Mister Davis, I believe me and you are going to have us a talk in the not-too-distant future.”
Davis was watching the deal go around. He said, “Always happy to help the law, Marshal. Especially the federal law. I’ll try and make some time late tomorrow and have a talk with you. Be glad to give you the benefit of my experience.”
They played without much talk for the next four hours. At the end of a hand Longarm sat back in his chair and yawned and then counted his money. He was up about sixty dollars. The players had changed several times except for him and Austin Davis. He could not tell how much Davis was winning, but he was irked to think it was more than sixty dollars.