Comes a Gambler

Chapter 1 – Hard Times

"I don't see any other way." That was what I told Doralice just this morning. And, honestly, it was the truth.

It had been one thing after another, each one worse than the last. Beau's horse slipped crossing a stream and fell on him, breaking his right arm. Bret caught something from one of the kids and was so sick he couldn't get out of bed. One of the horses we bought from Tennessee came down with something the vet called 'Eastern Fever', and within three days he was dead – but not before he'd spread it to almost every horse in the place. We lost the whole crop of yearlings and more than half of the foals born that year. The B Bar M was hurtin' financially and we had nothing in the way of stock left to sell. We needed money, and we needed it desperately. And there was only one way that I could think of to get it . . . playin' poker. That was the only way out of this financial mess we found ourselves in, and that's what I told my wife.

"Oh Bart, no," Doralice protested. "There must be somethin' else we can do."

"What? Put the kids to work? I've sold everything I can afford to sell. If I sell the stock that's left, we won't have anything to rebuild with."

"What about Maude's? I know Mama would sell the saloon if you asked her."

I shook my head. That was the last thing I could do. "Without Maude's, your mother and pappy wouldn't have any income." Even the saloon had gone through a dry spell and Pappy had invested all his funds to keep it afloat. "No, blue-eyes, I'm gonna have to go back out on the road."

I guess I better explain everybody. I'm Bart Maverick. Bret is my brother and Beau is our cousin. Until a few years ago me, Bret and Beau were professional poker players. Some of you might call us gamblers, but Pappy would tell you,you're dead wrong. Poker is a science, a beautiful game when played properly. He oughtta know . . . him and his brother Ben practically invented the game. Pappy is our father, Beauregard Maverick to be exact.

Me and Bret talked about cattle ranchin' when we came home from the war, but we wanted to travel so we did . . . and made a nice livin' by playin' poker. Only thing was, came time when we both wanted to settle down and raise families, we needed a different way to make a livin' . . . somethin' that didn't require us to be gone all the time. So we put together a horse ranch on property I bought from Uncle Ben. Over the years I added more land to the ranch, and we all had houses built there. Everything went pretty well for a long while, until the floods of 1885 came along. It cost a lot to put the place back together, and then everything just seemed to go wrong.

By the time we lost most of the livestock, we were in hot water. I couldn't see any way out of it unless one of us went back out on the road playin' poker. Bret was sick as a dog and Beau's arm was broken; Ppapy and Ben were too old. That left yours truly.

Like I told Doralice, I didn't see any other way out. I hated to leave her and the kids, but what else was I gonna do? Lucien, our foreman, could run the place while I was gone. Doralice and Maudie, our oldest daughter, could handle the bookwork. It had been a long time since I'd played more than recreational poker, and I knew I was gonna hafta sharpen my skills if I was gonna make any money. So I rode into Little Bend and went to see Billy Sunday at Maude's. Billy was the manager of the saloon, and I wanted him to set up some games for me.

They had to be 'practice' games – we'd each start out with so much money and at the end of the night everybody would get back what they started with. I needed to touch the cards, get my head in the game. To remember what it was like to feel the urge to win. The need to win. Because that's really what it was . . . I needed to win. If I didn't, the B Bar M and everything we'd worked so hard for would be lost to the creditors.

I played every night for two weeks. I wasn't as sharp as I'd been before, but I was a damn site better than the majority of the men I played against. And the more I played, the better I got. It all came back to me, like a long lost lover. I missed spending the nights with Doralice, who I'd loved for so long I couldn't remember a life without her. We both understood that what I was doin' I had to do, and if I could make it all work there'd be a lotta nights when I could hold the beautiful blonde in my arms, and I wouldn't have to let her go.

I sat her and Maudie down and had a good long talk with both of my girls. I was dependin' on them to see to it that things ran the way they were supposed to while I was gone. Lucien was in charge of the ranch end of things, but I needed to know the two of them could figure out how to keep us afloat until I could bring some money in. It was gonna be a week or two until I could make any money. Assuming I could beat gamblers out in the real world.

It was past time to go, so I packed my old travelin' bag and had Lucien get Baron ready. I kissed all of the little ones and told them I loved them, and that I'd be back as soon as I could. Then I hugged Maudie and she kissed my cheek, and I reminded her that I knew she'd o her very best, and I couldn't ask for any more than that.

Then came the hardest part, saying goodbye to Doralice. I remember a time when she wasn't mine and saying goodbye was easy. But that was a long time ago, and I hated having to leave her now. Especially with the burden I'd laid on her shoulders.

I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her, then held her close for long minutes. I wanted to remember the scent of her, the feel of her hair brushing my arms, the taste of her lips on mine. Leaving Doralice was gonna be the hardest thing I've ever had to do. "Just remember how much I love you," I whispered in her ear.

"I know. I love you, too," she told me. "Please be careful."

"I will be, blue-eyes. Wish me luck."

"You don't need luck, gamblin' man. You've got skill on your side."

I mounted Baron and kicked him into a trot to get away as fast as I could. If I'd turned around and looked back I never would have left, and I had to go. Our whole future depended on it.

I bypassed Little Bend and rode straight to Abilene. That was far enough away for me to sit in on my first poker game and see what I could do. I found a saloon named 'Jesse's Place' and tied Baron up out front. It wasn't real big, but there were two poker games goin' and there was an empty seat at one of them. "Do you mind if I join you, gentlemen?" I asked.

"Might as well," the big redhead on my right said. "We're goin' nowhere fast. Maybe some new blood'll help."

"Ante and limits?"

"Twenty-five dollar ante, no limits." That came from the older man sitting straight across from me.

I threw in my ante and we were off.

XXXXXXXX

Six hours later I excused myself. I couldn't keep my eyes open and I'd just been spinning my wheels. There was a hotel right next door and they were cheap enough, so I got a room for what was left of the night and sat down on the bed. Time to see how much damage I'd done to my stake.

I was surprised when I counted it. I was up about twenty dollars, and I wouldn't have believed that possible the way the cards were fallin'. And I didn't help any the way I played. I'd gotten a false sense of confidence the way I played at Maude's, but I can only assume it was the caliber of the men I'd played against. The men at 'Jesse's' were poker players, and I did a lot of scrambling to stay anywhere near even. My poker skills had certainly gotten a workout, and I could only hope that the beating I'd taken would help to sharpen my instincts.

I slept five or six hours, then got up an shaved. I went downstairs to see how expensive breakfast was gonna be, and I was pleased to find their food prices as cheap as their rooms. The food wasn't half bad, either. When I finished I went back upstairs and packed my bag, then checked out of the hotel. I'd had the good sense to take Baron down to the livery before I went to bed, so at least one of us was rested. I saddled him and mounted, headin' for Lubbock where I hoped my luck would be better.

It wasn't. This time I was lucky to break even. Another night in a cheap hotel, and the next morning I headed for Amarillo. If something didn't change soon I was gonna be sleepin' in the stall with Baron, and I was gettin' too old for that.