Heyes looked at his hand and realised it would be a very hard one to beat. But well-schooled in keeping a poker face, he let none of his certainty of success to show on his face and only said calmly, with no inflection. "Raise you, five dollars."

He was careful not to seem too confident as he made his bet, though the main thought in his head as he looked at not insignificant pot, was. "You're mine!"

The player to his left threw his cards on the table, looking disgusted and said morosely. "Fold." The man was probably close in age to Heyes, not a bad player exactly, just a little over cautious and more likely to fold than risk making too big a bet and therefore losing money. A family man thought Heyes, with a loving wife and not that far up his career ladder- banking or clerking he figured.

The player to his right, older, rich, overly confident and obnoxiously loud. Expensively dressed, with a blonde that definitely wasn't his wife hanging on his arm said confidently. "I raise you ten dollars, Mr Smith."

An older man, the town doctor who had intelligence and a sharp eye faced him. He was the only person in this bunch that Heyes felt was any competition at all. He looked down at his cards and then between Heyes and idiot and his mouth quirked up in a slight smile as he said dryly. "Call, let's see what you got, fellas!"

Heyes laid down his cards and grinned at the collective groan that went round the table. He quickly gathered the pile of money and leaving enough coins on the table for the remaining players to have a couple of drinks on him, stood. "I'm gonna call it a night folks- don't want to ride my luck too far!"

As he stood to leave, there was an ominous click from the other side of the table. The quiet man, who Heyes hadn't really paid much mind to, beyond noting the fact that he was under forty and decently dressed was holding a gun in his hand. "I think you're cheating Smith- It isn't natural you winning as often as you have."

The Doctor sighed and shook his head. "Don't be a bigger idiot than you have to be Arthur. He hasn't needed to cheat. He's just a better player than we're used to seeing. It isn't as if any of us had lost more than we can afford tonight, so don't be making a scene and getting Sheriff Marks over here."

The man with his gun still drawn, glared at the doctor and looked about to argue, when Heyes felt a presence loom up behind him on his right and recognised it instinctively. He hid a smile as the next words confirmed that it was indeed his partner. They were issued with a deceptive calm, that nonetheless suggested that the listeners should beware. "We got a problem here, boys?"

"What's it to you mister?" The quiet man seemed determined to be belligerent, and Heyes felt his friend shift his stance into his 'I mean business' pose as he said still calmly, but with an increased underlying menace, that usually gave most folk, except for the most stupid, pause. "He's my partner and my kin- so I ain't real keen on folk calling him a cheat."

The man was obviously only slightly stupid, as he recognised that it was smarter to just fold and smiling a little nervously, holstered his gun. "No problem, Mister, just a little misunderstanding."

"Well, I'm real pleased to hear that."

"Well, thank-you gentlemen for an interesting game." Heyes lied straight-faced, it'd been one of the dullest in several weeks, though definitely profitable. He retrieved his hat and backed away, careful not to block the Kid's line of fire and waving at the money he'd left on the table. "Enjoy a drink or two on me."

With that he pushed his hat back on his head and together he and the Kid walked towards the door. On the street, Heyes glanced over at his friend. "You cut that mighty fine, Kid, you getting distracted?"

The Kid glared at him in some disgust as he said. "It don't seem fair, that a man can't even answer a call of nature without his partner getting drawn on. I hung on for as long as I could. " He paused and added reflectively. "I didn't figure on him being the one who'd cause the problem, Heyes."

Neither had Heyes, but he was damned if he'd admit that to his partner and said with a smile. "Well, not everyone can be as good a judge of character as I am, Kid."

The Kid looked at him suspiciously, but only said. "Guess we oughta be moving on tomorrow. There's a train heading to Yuma at ten tomorrow morning. I checked for asterisks before ya ask, Heyes."

Heyes was a little reluctant to leave somewhere with such easy pickings, but he knew that it was time- that little confrontation might lead one of the players to consider that Smith and his partner Jones weren't quite what they seemed and then to start wondering loud enough that the sheriff took notice. He nodded. "Yuma it is, Kid."