PLAYING FOR KEEPS
Rain pinged noisily off the tin roof. Wind howled through tiny cracks in the rough-hewn walls. Kid Curry and Hannibal Heyes sat at a small round table covered by a brightly checkered red and white cloth with plates of food on the table in front of them. Kid eagerly shoveled forkfuls of food into his mouth, relishing his lunch with typical enthusiasm. Between bites, he glanced over at his friend. Finally he laid his fork down and asked, "Alright. What in tarnation is eating you?"
The dark-haired, dark-eyed cowboy sitting across the table from him was slouched low in his chair, hand fisted to his lips. His food sat untouched. His normally calm exterior was beginning to show signs of cracking. "Huh? Nothin'. Whaddaya mean?"
"Whaddaya mean, what do I mean? You been actin' strange every since we got into town last night. You're makin' me so nervous, I can barely eat."
Heyes smirked affectionately. "It don't seem like you're having any trouble to me." He pushed his body up straight in his chair, leaning slightly forward at the waist. "I don't know. I'm just feeling restless. Must be all this rain. The sun hasn't broke through for more'n two days. Not since we left that last town."
"Well, don't worry, Joshua. It'll be hot and sunny again before you know it. Say, I know how to take your mind off the rain. How 'bout we head over to the saloon and play a little poker after lunch?"
"Now you're talking. Let's go." Heyes dropped some money on the table and headed for the door, turning his collar up against the weather as he went.
Curry frowned, "I said after lunch. I aint' finished!" Getting no response from his determined partner, he started to stand, wolfing down the last bites of his lunch as he rose. As an afterthought, he grabbed the slice of bread that sat untouched on Heyes' plate and swallowed it down before following Heyes out into the rain.
The saloon was packed, men crowded at the bar and around the tables scattered throughout the room. Cowboys, ranchers, townsfolk, gunnies, and saloon girls mingled together. The rain had halted "life as usual" and driven men from all walks inside. Drunken laughter and conversation filled the air along with a heavy haze of smoke floating near the ceiling.
Heyes paused one step inside the doorframe. Shouts of "Shut the door" welcomed them to the saloon. Already, he looked more relaxed as a smile slowly spread across his ruggedly handsome face. "Awww…Look at this, Thaddeus. Whiskey, beautiful women, and poker. Now this is the place to be on a day like today." He took his hat off and hung it on the hook near the door, running his fingers through his rain-dampened hair. A few droplets of rain trickled down the back of his neck, kissing the soft skin behind his ears before tracking down inside his shirt collar.
Curry looked at his friend, relieved to see his good spirits return. "I'm just glad to be back inside where it's dry. Whaddaya say we find a table?" Kid led the way as the pair started a slow circuit around the room, sizing up the players at the various tables and looking for a couple of open chairs.
Suddenly from behind them, a familiar voice rang out over the buzz of conversation in the room. "Boys! Well, my gosh! Boys!"
Heyes and Kid stopped in their tracks, looking at each other in amazement, and spun around to locate the source of the voice beckoning them. Hurrying towards them from a room at the back of the saloon was a handsome older woman. Billowing, platinum blond curls surrounded her face. Her dress was shiny black satin; a matching black shawl concealed some, but not all of her substantial bosom spilling out of the low-cut neckline.
It's obvious that the boys were delighted to see her. Their faces were lit up by broad smiles and loud laughter slipped past their lips. "Jenny! Ain't you a purdy sight." Heyes embraced the woman and planted a wet kiss on her cheek.
Kid pushed him aside, "My turn, Joshua." He hugged Jenny just as tightly, lifting her slightly off the ground. When he set her back down, he brushed his lips across her other cheek. "You look great, Jenny."
"Oh, my. You boys sure know how to take a girl's breath away. Too bad I've sworn off men, or you boys would be in trouble."
Laughing, Heyes said, "You swore off men? Doubtful." Turning serious, he continued, "Jenny, last we heard, they were still holding you for Kenneth Blake's killing. What happened?"
"When'd you get out, Jenny?"
"How long you been in town? Do you keep in touch with Louise?"
"One question at a time, boys. I ain't even recovered from that nice greeting yet. Let's go sit down somewhere a little quieter so I can catch my breath." She led the way to a table set off from the main room. This was apparently where she worked, dealing blackjack for the house.
"So tell us how you've been. What happened after the trial?"
Jenny looked down at her hands, fingers laced together on the table in front of her. The memories of the past months of her life since Billy's disappearance and murder reflected in her eyes. Glancing first at Heyes, then at Curry, she smiled softly. "I've done ok. Did you hear what happened at the trial?"
Heyes nodded.
"Well, then you know that thanks to Louise Carson's testimony, telling the jury how Kenneth Blake plotted that bank robbery and then killed Billy and Caleb, I ended up getting off pretty light. So I served my time and here I am."
"That's great, Jenny."
"Yeah. But I'll tell you one thing right here. The only thing I cared about then, or now, was avenging Billy's death. I would have spent the rest of my natural life in jail if I had to." Tears glistened in her eyes as Jenny smiled a quivering smile.
"We know, Jenny. We're just glad you didn't have to." Heyes reached across the table and patted Jenny's arm with obvious affection.
Jenny sighed heavily. "Ain't a day goes by that I don't miss that boy. He was my whole life." Her eyes gazed over Kid's shoulder as, for a moment, her mind went somewhere else. After a bit, her eyes focused in on the two handsome cowboys sitting with her. "So you boys still going by the names Smith and Jones? Which is which again?"
"I'm Jones. Heyes is Smith."
"Still don't see how it makes much difference…How long you been in town, Smith and Jones?"
"Uh, we just got here last night. Supposed to start work on a cattle drive, but all this rain has set it back a few days."
"So now we just plan on playing some cards for a spell…to pass the time."
"Just between the three of us, you've picked the right place for it. A bunch of these lunks don't seem to know the difference between a pair of jacks and a royal flush. Course, we got some slicks in here too. You better watch out for them."
"Thanks for the advice, Jenny, but I think we know how to handle ourselves at a poker table."
"Uh, huh…I've seen you boys play poker. Heck, I probably taught you half of what you know. Even so, it ain't always pretty."
Heyes and Curry grinned wryly at her. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."
"Just try not to lose your shirts. It's cold outside," she laughed. "Come back and see me later. We'll talk some more."
The two men continued on their route through the saloon, eyeballing the tables and the players at each. In turn, they attract the admiring glances of most of the working girls in the room, not to mention a few appraising looks from some of the more suspicious men. Finally, Heyes turned to Kid, "What do you think, Thaddeus? That table there has a couple of chairs open. Think we should give it a try?"
Three men currently occupied the table in question. Two looked like average run-of-the-mill cowhands. The third man was more dandified. He looked like a man who hadn't yet learned the meaning of hard work, and he didn't appear in any danger of finding out that meaning any time soon. All three fellows were about the same age as Heyes and Curry.
"I don't know, Joshua. That fella looks like he might be a professional gambler. Think you can manage not to lose too much?"
"He looks like a gambler, but I've had my eye on him for a while and he don't play like a professional. I think I can manage. Heck, I think even you might be able to win some." Heyes smiled teasingly at Kid.
"Oh, that's just great. Thanks a lot!" Kid retorted.
"Shall we?" Heyes gestured for Kid to go ahead.
"After you," Kid returned.
"Howdy, gents. Room for a couple more?"
The dandy looked up from his hand and considered the two men standing in front of him. "If you've got the money, I'd be happy to relieve you of some of it," he said, motioning towards the empty chairs. "Sit."
"Much obliged. My name's Joshua Smith and this here's my partner, Thaddeus Jones."
"Well, Smith and Jones, these two ugly mutts sitting here with me are Ike and Ralph. My name's Jeremy." He smiled broadly at the newcomers, but something about his expression made Kid nervous.
The clock on the wall chimed two o'clock as Heyes and Curry sat down to play. By five o'clock the two saddle tramps at the table had been replaced by two similarly non-descript characters, the first Ike and Ralph having lost their chips, and their week's wages, to the other players.
Jeremy's pile of chips, sizably larger than anyone else's had diminished noticeably during the course of the afternoon. His good nature seemed to disappear at the same rate as his chips. Heyes was right. The dandy was no professional. It hadn't taken him long to get a handle on Jeremy's weaknesses and exploit them to his benefit. "Two pair, aces over eights," he said, laying his cards on the table. Kid, who hadn't been able to shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right with Jeremy, watched him warily.
Jeremy stared at the overturned hand and angrily threw his in. Heyes smiled gently and reached forward to rake in the pot. "Just a second, friend." Jeremy laid his hand on Heyes' arm. Kid cautiously pushed back from the table a few inches, ready to come to Heyes' defense when the need arose.
"I don't know how you're winning so much, but I'm starting to think it ain't just luck."
"You're right. It's not luck…friend. It's good poker playing…something you don't seem to be acquainted with."
Jeremy smiled tightly, but humor was not the emotion reflected in his eyes. "That's funny. You're a funny guy. But I don't think cheating is funny and I think you're cheating."
Heyes looked at the other men seated around the table. "Does anyone else here think I've been cheating?" After casting fearful glances towards Jeremy, the other two players shook their heads "No".
"There. See? Nobody else here thinks I'm cheating."
"Well, I do and that's all that counts."
"No—I don't think so. What really counts is the fact that you just aren't a very good poker player. And you sweat when you bluff."
Thaddeus groaned silently. In a quiet, calming voice, he said, "Let's be reasonable, Jeremy. Nobody else here thinks my friend is cheating. I can tell you from experience that he doesn't need to cheat. Maybe it's luck or maybe he's just a better player than the rest of us. Tell you what, if you don't want to play with him, why don't you pick up what's left of your chips and go to another table?"
"I got another idea. Why don't you take your smooth-talking friend and leave…before he gets hurt." Slowly Jeremy stood. Strapped to his leg, gunslinger-style, he wore a Colt .45. Curry and Heyes exchanged a "here we go again" look. "I'm calling your bluff, Smith. Stand up."
"Sit down, Jeremy. Let's talk this out like two gentlemen."
"Time for talking is done. Get up…unless you want me to shoot you where you sit."
Heyes started to stand, hands held in front of him, palms facing forward, ready for one more attempt at reconciliation. Kid firmly laid a hand on his shoulder, forcing him back into his chair, while rising to his own feet.
"Listen, Jeremy. We aren't looking for any trouble here. If you don't want to move to another table, then we will."
"I told you, time for talking is passed. Since you seem determined to fight your friend's battles…you better be ready to draw."
The other men at the table and those nearby scrambled for cover. Heyes remained in his chair, looking up at Curry who stood near his shoulder. Seconds ticked off as Jeremy and Kid appraised each other. Curry stared at the dandy, having no intention of making the first move. After what seemed like an eternity to the silent observers, Jeremy, with lightning speed, reached for his Colt. A split second later, Curry had his gun drawn. The barroom crowd let out an audible gasp as the gun flew out of Jeremy's hand.
"Like you said, the time for talking is done. Pick up what's left of your chips and move on."
Jeremy opened his mouth as if to speak again, then thought better of it and closed his lips. Never taking his eyes off Kid, he reached forward with his uninjured hand and scooped up his chips. Working up some false courage, he said, "You may think you've won, but be assured, this isn't over." With those words, Jeremy strode out of the saloon.
A glimmer of satisfaction crossed Kid's face. Nonchalantly, he holstered his side-arm, giving it a quick spin before settling it back into its leather. Almost immediately the saloon returned to normal, the confrontation between the two gunfighters quickly forgotten by all except the principal participants.
"You didn't need to do that, Thaddeus. I could have handled him by myself. I think he was just about to see reason," Heyes said. His voice was tight with annoyance.
Kid looked over at his partner, taken aback by his tone. He frowned deeply, looking more hurt than angry. "A simple 'thank you' would be fine, Joshua! You were about to get your head blowed off. If that's your attitude, maybe I should have let you."
Heyes ignored Kid's injured feelings. Rising from his chair, he began scooping his chips off the table. "No. I could tell I was getting through to him at the end. Another minute—"
"Uh, huh. You just keep telling yourself that. C'mon. Let's go get a drink. This game is over anyways." Kid led the way to the bar, muttering and grumbling under his breath. Sometimes he wondered why he even bothered to watch out for Heyes when he got himself in a situation. "Next time he gets himself into a scrape, he can get himself back out of it too," he thought.
They grabbed a couple of drinks at the bar from a bartender who had recently developed a new, healthy respect for them. Taking the bottle with them, along with three glasses, they set off to find Jenny. She was at her table dealing blackjack to a couple of unshaven farm hands. When she saw Heyes and Kid, she quickly closed the table. With motherly concern, she turned troubled eyes on the two handsome ex-outlaws smiling at her from the other side of the table.
"What are you looking so worried about, Jenny?" Curry asked.
"If you had any brains, you'd be worried too. You just bought yourself a world of trouble."
Their earlier quarrel already forgotten, Heyes and Kid looked at each other, thenand then turned to stare at Jenny blankly. With a sigh of exasperation, she shook here head and said, "Don't you know who you just got into a drawing contest with?"
"Uh, he told us his name was Jeremy. Other than that, I just know he's a very bad gambler," Heyes smiled.
"That's right. His name is Jeremy. Jeremy Beaumont!" She looked at the boys expecting a reaction. They just looked at her with bewildered expressions. Kid shrugged his shoulders indifferently. With another impatient shake of her head, which sent blonde curls bouncing around her head, she repeated, "Beaumont!"
"Sorry, Jenny. It's not ringing any bells."
"Do you know what the name of the hotel you're staying at is? The restaurant across the street? Do you know what this whole town is called?"
"Uh, lemme guess…Beaumont?"
'Now you're getting it. That boy's grandpa built this town and his daddy owns half of it. He's used to pretty much doin' what he wants around here…and he don't like losing."
"We already know that."
"I can see I'm gonna have to spell it out for ya. That boy is dangerous. And he's a couple horses short of a full team…am I getting through to you?"
"Jenny, we appreciate your concern, but Kid and I can take care of ourselves. You don't have to worry."
"You don't know this fella. Maybe you ought to lie low for a while 'til that cattle drive starts. Maybe set up camp somewhere out of town for a couple days."
"I don't think so. You'll notice it's still raining pretty good out there. Why would we want to be out in that when we can have a nice warm hotel room right here in town? No, Kid and I can handle whatever Jeremy Beaumont comes up with."
"Lands, you are the most stubborn boys I ever met! There is just no talking to you."
"Joshua, whaddaya say we head over to the restaurant and get some supper."
"Sounds good. Jenny, care to join us?"
"No. I gotta work. But you boys think about what I told you. I still say you should get outa town fast."
Next morning, Curry was just waking up. He yawned widely and rubbed the sleep from his cornflower blue eyes before rolling over and looking at his friend, still asleep in the other bed. He could tell from the bright sunlight spilling in through the window that the rain had finally stopped, at least for now. "Heyes. Get up," he mumbled sleepily before closing his eyes for another moment's rest.
Heyes slept on. Opening one eye to look at him, Curry said again, "Heyes, rise and shine." Then he grabbed the feather pillow from his bed and flung it at his sleeping partner's head, easily hitting his mark.
"Huh! Wha--?" Heyes sat bolt upright, reaching for his side arm as he moved. Seeing the mischievous grin on Kid's face, he let go of the gun butt and scowled. "Whaddaya wanna go and do that for?"
Kid was sitting up in bed, blonde curls tousled and unruly. "Look out the window."
"I'm looking…so?"
"Well, it ain't raining anymore. That means we might have to start that job today and I wanna make sure we have time for breakfast before we have to move out."
"Ahhh…I see your point…you know, Kid, I been thinking."
"Heyes, do you have to do that so early? Can't you at least wait 'til we get something to eat first?"
"Hold on. I think you'll like what I have to say. I was thinking that with all the money we took off those cowboys, and our good friend Jer, of course, we maybe wouldn't have to join that cattle drive after all.
A slow smile spread across Curry's boyish face. He laughed, "Now you're talkin', Heyes. I wasn't looking forward to spending long days eating dust and pushing that herd anyway."
Heyes laughed too. "Yeah, and seeing how close we came to being killed or caught on the last one, it's probably a good idea if we avoid another one too soon."
"Ok, so just how much money did we win last night?"
"Almost $2,000. With the money we started with, we have about $2,300 between us."
"So you think we ought to take Jenny's advice and move on somewhere safer?"
"Noooo…It has nothing to do with Jenny's advice. I think we ought to take our money and move on somewhere safer."
"Heyes, maybe the sun is gonna shine on us for a while more ways than one."
"Looks like it, Kid. Let's eat and then go tell Jenny we'll be moving on."
Both men got out of bed, Heyes in his white long johns and Kid in a matching pair, only red. Both of them managed to make long underwear look good. The top buttons of Heyes' shirt had come undone sometime during the night, revealing a soft tuft of dark curly hair that peeked out through the opening ever so coyly.
Kid was nearly dressed when he saw the piece of paper someone had slid under their door during the night. After tucking his shirttail into the waistline of his dungarees, he picked up the note and without reading it passed it to Heyes who was still shaving.
"Huh? What's this?"
Curry shrugged, "It was on the floor."
"You read it?"
Curry shook his head "No".
Heyes opened out the paper. Silently, he read the words scrawled on it. He looked unhappily at Kid. "I don't think we're gonna have time for breakfast after all," he said handing the note to Kid. As Curry read the words written there, a bright flash of lightning streaked across the morning sky as the rain burst forth from the heavens again.
"So much for sunshine."
After grabbing a cup of coffee and some fresh-baked biscuits at the restaurant, the boys got their horses and headed north out of town. Rain ponchos provided some scant protection from the pounding rain. As they rode, they discussed the contents of the note, speaking loudly to be able to hear each other over the downpour. "What do you think Jeremy has planned for Jenny, Heyes?"
"You read the note. I know the same thing you do…that he wants us to come out to his family ranch and if we don't do as he says, he'll kill Jenny."
"Do you believe him?"
"I don't think we have a choice. Jenny told us he was dangerous and she would know better than us."
"So do you have a plan?"
"Not yet. We're gonna have to see what he wants. Then I'll figure out what to do about it."
"I already know what he wants. He wants you, Heyes. For making him look bad at that poker game."
"Don't be so sure, Kid. Remember, you're the one who shot him. Ruined a perfectly functional Colt .45. He can't be happy about that."
"I guess you're right…but why Jenny? She didn't have anything to do with it."
"Except he probably saw how friendly we were. Figured she'd be the bait to get us where he wants us."
"Hmmm…if that's true, we'd better be real careful from here on out. According to what the desk clerk said, the Beaumont ranch is just around the next bend."
Just then, from behind the curtain of rain they had just passed through, came a gruff voice, "Alright, that's far enough, gents. Take your guns out of their holsters real slow, two fingers, and hold 'em over your head. Don't turn around. Jase, go get their irons."
"Here we go, Thaddeus. Game on."
"OK, let's move. No sense staying out here in this rain any longer than we have to. Just make sure you don't try anything funny. I have no problem with shooting you in the back."
"I had a feeling you might say that."
Even through the deluge, the house before them was impressive-looking. "OK, get off your horses nice and slow. Remember, I still have you in my sights." Heyes and Curry eased cautiously off their mounts. "Jase, take the broomtails to the stables and get 'em dried off. I'll take care of these two myself."
"OK, boys. Move on up to the house. Mr. Beaumont is waitin' for you."