Chapter 3: The Ace in the Hands
When I left the hospital having lost my first life I was very bitter. Not Santiago, who took my money without a word and ran away. After all, there was a bet between us and, to my misfortune, he must have won it, but more so that I lost. It seemed to me that I was so fast that the bulls chasing us were long behind and that there was no way they could have caught up with me in such a short time! I was bitter about this and partly angry with myself for losing the bet in such a stupid way. If I had thought more about the idea of how to find the right girl, or if I had run a bit more it would have been all right...
In any case, Santiago must not have checked, or at least not checked the other shoe more carefully, because in the other shoe I had just kept a pannier for a rainy day... such as this situation, which forced me to spend my most secret savings, which I found extremely useful at that moment. I knew that with what I had left I wouldn't be able to feed myself with it for long, let alone find accommodation! I needed to get a cash injection...something that would give me a lot of money immediately that would allow me to stay overnight and feed myself for a time in which I would manage to find a job with which I could earn money. I immediately thought of Las Vegas..."
"Gosh, Puss. Have you really been to Las Vegas! It's supposedly a city for rich people only! How did you get there?" Said Perrito in fascination, gazing admiringly at Puss, who laughed briefly but with a full-blown pride that filled him seeing the dog's admiration.
"He hasn't been to any Las Vegas...less than 100 kilometres from Pamplona is San Sebastian - a city full of casinos and gamblers who, like Puss, think they will become millionaires in no time and lead a quiet life," interrupted Kitty of Perrito's admiration. Puss muttered something grimly under his breath while correcting his hat while staring at Kitty, who smiled slightly - now she was filled with pride, knowing that she had spoiled the cat's plan.
"Never mind!
Anyway, I knew that I wouldn't survive more than three days with what money I had left. I didn't think long about it. I needed that money badly to be able to go on with my adventures and without money I didn't even have a way to eat! Before I left the hospital, however, I asked the doctor who was looking after me out of curiosity if he had seen Santiago. He replied that I had been brought to the ward by a woman I wanted to ask out on a date. There was no sign of Santiago. Apparently he must have taken immediate advantage of the situation while I was lying unconscious. When I left the hospital in the afternoon I ate a really basic breakfast to have any strength. As far as I remember it was a plain wheat roll with some Leche. Immediately after eating breakfast...if I can call it that, I hired a horse to go to San Sebastian.
The city of the gamblers was, as Kitty had already managed to mention, less than 100 kilometres from where the bull race took place, so I didn't have much distance to cover. The weather was more in my favour this time - there was a light overcast in the sky which blocked the hot rays of the sun causing a gentle cool breeze and the sun wasn't heating me up during the journey, making it really pleasant to ride. The temperature was just right and the gentle breeze refreshed me, making me feel really great on this journey, during which I tried to remember the rules of poker..."
"Well all of you! Without remembering the rules of poker you went to a city that is famous for the best poker players? Really, no matter how this story ends I won't be surprised!" She parried Kitty's laughter. She had expected that the decisions Puss had made during his previous lives were not very sensible, but this was even sillier than a bet during a bull race!
"Actually, it seems like not the best idea," seconded Perrito's cat's words.
"Not that I didn't know! I remembered something from years ago when I used to play it regularly at the orphanage for candy. We played by the same rules as the pros, so I remembered some things, but when I was riding my mount I knew I didn't remember some of the rules...something told me I didn't remember something, but I couldn't remember what.
Anyway, I didn't have much choice when it came to getting out of this tough financial situation as there was hardly anyone working in Pamplona due to the holiday and it was too far to travel to other cities. I would run out of money before I got anywhere and San Sebastian was not that far away and that was where I had the chance to make a quick buck.
Halfway there I decided to take a break as I could hear my horse's heavy wheezing and his pace had clearly slowed down so I wanted him to rest. On the way we came across a roadside inn at which I decided to stop for my horse to rest. When I dismounted he immediately ran to the water trough himself and began to drink it so haphazardly that most of it ended up on the ground instead of in his mouth!
"I didn't know you were so exhausted compadre" I thought surprised. The horse didn't even pay any attention to me when I stroked his back, he was so out of breath that all he cared about was water.
I, meanwhile, walked into the inn, which inside made it clear that visitors were seen here occasionally. The tables were empty, there were clear traces of dust on those placed further from the centre of the room and there was a generally sepulchral atmosphere inside. Behind the counter stood an old man, with grey hair and beard, who, leaning his elbows against the counter top, stared at me with a hopeful gaze. It was clear that seeing me gave him a lot of joy, and probably not through having seen Puss in Boots live!
"I'll have a cup of Leche, please," I asked calmly as I sat down opposite the older man. The barman nodded in agreement and slowly made his way to the barrel with the word 'Leche' engraved on it. Interestingly - even though the tables were not shining with newness so the counter and bottles of alcohol and barrels of Leche and wine looked as if they had only arrived today! The barman filled a glass with the white drink that always gave me strength and then, as is classic in an inn, moved the glass gracefully towards me until it landed in my paws.
"You don't have very many guests do you?" I asked while looking at the Leche in the cup. Although the cask looked new, the general atmosphere of the room urged me to make sure everything was okay with my drink. I found nothing suspicious, so I took a sip with a hint of distrust and swallowed it. It tasted quite normal - like Leche, fresh, good Leche.
"Yes, we're an inn that's only frequented by gamblers heading to San Sebastian," my grandfather replied.
"How do you know that everyone is heading to San Sebastian?" I asked surprised. How did he know the destination of everyone who had decided to stay here?
"This is the only road that goes from Pamplona to San Sebastian. Anyway, you can see from them that they need money. Just like with you," the man replied confidently. Puss looked at himself. In fact, he did not look like someone who could throw money around at every turn.
"Guess you keep your money in one of your shoes?" The man added.
"I usually keep it in two. But there's one bag left...never mind, it's a long story," replied Puss.
"Sure...listen, if you want I can give you one piece of advice on how to survive in San Sebastian" offered the bartender. I didn't quite understand what he meant, but seeing that he was most likely not suffering from dementia which at his age wouldn't be surprising I decided to listen to the advice the man had for me. I nodded affirmatively as a sign that I wanted to get advice from him.
"Don't play with Jackie's gang," the barman said briefly. I was perplexed. Who is Jack? Why shouldn't I play with him or his gang?"
"Why? Who are they?" I asked.
"They're a dog gang who offer practically the biggest stakes in the whole city, but you'd better not mess with them. They are also among the most dangerous ones... they play very well and don't cheat, but you do something to them...you'll be in big trouble." The man added.
"What do you mean dangerous?"
"If you try to cheat them during the game they won't wait for the right moment, they'll cheat you straight away..." The bartender added then finally added a movement showing a headbutting. I immediately understood what he meant, I didn't have to think about it for long.
"Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely take it," I said. I drank the leftover Leche, paid for the drink then left the inn. My horse was ready to go, I mounted it and continued my journey.
The rest of the way was already quite smooth, there was actually very little road left, I imposed a slower pace on the horse so that there would be no need for a second break. I was keen to earn money that night so that I could spend the night in San Sebastian. By the stop at the inn I had definitely not enough gold in my pannier to pay for the poorest night's lodging. I only had a few pieces left, which I planned to spend on rounds of poker. I had no choice but to take a chance so the closer I got to this town the more stressed I became. I still had some blanks in my head when it came to the rules of poker, but I believed I could handle it. To start with, I planned to play a few free games to familiarise myself with the rules of the card game. And this bartender's words about Jackie's gang...what if I don't get to know them and accidentally play with them? I have been known to...sneak cards sometimes when we played at the orphanage, and the news that they could kill was even worse!
As I pondered the poker, I didn't even notice how quickly I arrived at my destination! As the sun started to go down behind the horizon I could see in front of me the San Sebastian welcome gate made of wrought iron. Passing through the gate, I immediately noticed why this city is colloquially called "Las Vegas". Every few houses where the inhabitants lived there were bars set up where you could play cards for money and every few intersections there were casinos offering the first risk-free games. I don't know exactly what this meant, but I guessed that it was better to let it go so as not to lose even more than during a normal poker game. The town itself looked very nice. The stone houses, interspersed by wooden bars gave the atmosphere of modernisation with a classic feel. The cobbled roads were something lacking on the normal roads, which were gravel on dry days and really oppressive to ride on! Fortunately, here riding on horseback was very comfortable, but what particularly caught my eye was the police guard that was on practically every road! By the time I reached the town centre where the main casino is, I was met by 6 units of guards who were mainly wandering around the casino and bar areas looking in there occasionally. I knew from the start that these side casinos were not safe, but so much so...
The city centre was by far the most profitable place. The three different casinos and two bars spread out around the town hall perfectly showed how many gamblers were here, because as I stood in the middle of the square in front of the town hall I could see groups of people entering the three casinos with a desire to make money just like me. The three casinos were very similar in design, you could tell that the owner of the three gambling establishments was the same, only he had so many customers that he had to create additional casinos to accommodate them! Namely, they were cement structures whose entrance was a wooden door and whose walls were overgrown with decorative ivy. Above the entrance was a sign made of wood: "Casino San Sebastian". In the middle of the square were benches and a fountain in the shape of the three cards that are used to play poker. There were lamps lit all around the square, giving extra light , the sun had already practically disappeared behind the horizon leaving only red streaks behind. As I pondered which casino to go to, I was accosted by a woman who was handing out a leaflet with numbers to circle. Dressed in a red dress with glittering sequins, she caught my eye staring straight into my eyes she blushed softly. Her expressive red lips, curly raven black hair and blue hair caught my attention.
"Welcome to San Sebastian Mr Puss in Boots! What brings you here?" Miss asked. I laughed proudly enjoying the fact that my legend is popular all the way here!
"I'd like to prove myself in the casino, mainly in poker. I know I'm great, but I've heard that the best of the best play here," I recounted confidently. I couldn't say that Puss in Boots had no money! The woman nodded with a movement of her head then pointed with her hand to the casino, which was on the left side of the town hall.
"This is the casino where people leave with a lot of money. However, to get in there you can't be just anyone, that's why the only rich people in town play there. You are Puss in Boots so they will let you in for sure," the woman communicated. At the same time she handed me a lottery in my hands.
"And what is this?" I asked perplexed.
"A lottery lotto. There are numbers from 1 to 30 on a piece of paper and your job is to cross off 6 and if you manage to hit all the correct numbers you win a box of gold!" The woman said. Sparks immediately lit up in my eyes encouraging me to take the risk. I took a coin out of my pannier and handed it to the woman. My possessions were steadily dwindling, but for a single piece of gold, who wouldn't risk it? I didn't believe in it too much so I crossed out 6 random digits quickly then signed my name on a scrap of paper and handed it over for Seniority.
"Thank you and good luck with the game!" Said the woman then started accosting other people in the market. I tucked the purse into my shoe and drove up to the casino recommended by the woman.
Stepping inside the building, I immediately knew why the woman had recommended this particular building. The interior itself, which was luxuriously furnished, made me realise that this was not the first better casino, but one of the more opulent places to gamble. The whole building was a kind of art exhibition, as on every wall were hung all sorts of paintings that I had never seen before in other places. The building was supported by columns in which all sorts of ornaments resembling cards, chips or human beings were carved. The interior even sparkled from cleanliness, every table, the counters where you could get something to drink, the floor and the railings everything was polished to a shine! On the other side of the building on two sides was a spiral door leading to the first floor. I stood at the entrance for a few minutes observing this almost beautiful building also watching the players at the tables who were playing roulette or poker. I could also see that there must have been vip rooms upstairs on the first floor, because I saw a group of people go into one of the rooms holding files of money and playing cards. I wanted to quietly blend in with the crowd to draw unnecessary attention to myself, but one of the bartenders managed to spot me and loudly COMMUNICATE that I was here.
"Oi, people! Puss in Boots is here!" Said the man loudly then they looked at me. Literally all poker games were interrupted so that everyone could meet my humble person visually. Even though I was already used to people paying attention to my person so now I felt a bit uncomfortable, but I didn't want to show it from myself, so I greeted everyone by walking down the hall.
As I walked past the players I could see that they were glancing at me as if to invite me to play, their eyes meeting mine with a frightening confidence. As you can see gamblers had an innate confidence.
"Hey, Puss, do you want to maybe try a game of roulette?" One of the guests asked. I moved closer to the roulette table and watched as the ball rolled for a few seconds on the roulette to stop on the red field.
"Ekhm...no thanks, not this time. I'd rather try something else" I replied confused. I moved away from the table to look at the poker games that were taking place on the tables opposite.
"Puss, how about a quick round of poker?" Asked another of the gamblers, who was shuffling his cards in preparation for a new hand.
"And what's the going rate?" I asked. His opponents as well as he did did not look like any professionals but rather amateurs who were just starting to play, but I was deceived when he then said the stakes I immediately gave up.
"Stake $1000" said the man. A stake of $1000! I only had a few coins on me, I didn't even want to tell them, I knew I would be laughed at immediately!
"Maybe next time...I'm looking around for something else" I replied moving away from the table. As I thought in my mind that it was too high here and I needed to look for something cheaper I was stopped by a voice coming from the first floor.
"Puss in Boots!" Cried a voice from above, which caught my attention. I lifted my head up and saw a labrador with a beige hat on his head and a cigar in his paw. With green eyes he stared at me with pride and a kind of joy to see me. He started heading towards the stairs followed by two other labradors dressed in black suits, they came down the stairs to meet and greet me.
"My name is Jack Joker and these are my bodyguards, also don't worry about them," the dog introduced himself. I immediately associated it with the words of an old bartender who had mentioned the jack gang and how dangerous they were.
"Puss in Boots" I introduced myself shaking hands for the labrador. I had the bartender's words in my mind all the time making my heart rate speed up considerably, but on the other hand Jack didn't seem like some dangerous person.
"What brings you to this city that is San Sebastian?" He asked curiously.
"I was in Pamplona for a bull race and thought I'd play poker. I've heard that the best players in Spain are here," I replied confidently. Of course, I didn't mention anything about my failure at the bull race so that my image wouldn't suffer.
" It's a good thing you came across me! I present the best poker group in town. What's here is just a bunch of hooligans who play just to lose money, we play to win money," Jack said proudly. His words sounded awfully convincing - I also got the impression that here in the room mostly to amateurs who play to lose money rather than to win. I cared about winning, so I was determined to win...even if I had to play with them.
"What are your starting stakes?" I asked.
"Puss...you bet as much as you want and you have it! You see, you can make a fortune from a small stake! Look at me, I have private security guards, if I played with these simple peasants would I be able to afford such things?" Jack asked. What he was saying actually made sense and I was eventually fooled by his reliable looking promises.
"And where's the catch?" I asked uncertainly.
"There is no catch! You win as much as you can! Are you in?" Jack asked. Feeling a small amount of gold in my shoe I knew I didn't have much choice but to agree because looking at the games going on in the room I couldn't even afford to put up the minimum bet.
"Alright, we can play," I agreed to the offer.
"Excellent! Let's go!" Said Jack ceremoniously.
We entered the Vip room where the rest of the players were already sitting inside. I now realised that I had entered a room from which there was already no exit! I had to play already...
In the room, apart from Jack and myself, there were other 3 dogs who were also dressed with elegance talking to each other shuffling cards. They interrupted the dialogue among themselves immediately when they saw me and fixed their eyes on me with some approval.
"Look who I managed to invite to play! " said Jack ceremoniously. He invited me to the table, still stressed I took a seat opposite the other players.
"It's the cat in the shoes himself!" Said one of the dogs.
"That's right, he came here to play cards with us! Show Puss what you're betting" Communicated Jack. At this table filled with chips and cards, together with the dogs, who were dressed elegantly in clothes which, if I sold them, I could live on for a few weeks if not a whole month, I perplexedly took off my right shoe and took a pannier of gold from it. Everyone stared at me in confusion. They all thought I was joking with this mediocre pannier, but my guilt claimed otherwise.
"Just that much? I expected more from such a legend" chuckled one of the dogs opprobriously. I laughed embarrassedly shrugging my shoulders. What was I supposed to say? It was all I could put up!
"Relax, I'm sure Puss will add more after the first game" said Jack calmly looking at me. His gaze clearly indicated that he was urging me to nod. I turned behind me - two security guards were guarding the gently closed door, there was no escape anymore.
"Of course! It's a small stake he wants to double. How much are you guys betting?" I asked to appear confident. The dogs looked at each other then threw from their pockets two coveted pouches stuffed with gold. There was so much gold in there that the noose that tied the sack open! Immediately the gold coins shone in my eyes, it was after all so much money that I could easily leave San Sebastian two days travelling and for the next weeks rest far away from here!
"So, Puss...are you in?" Asked Jack seriously. Looking at the fact that without a game I was unlikely to leave the room alive anyway and there was such a large amount of money on the table I had no choice but to nod and say "Deal the cards".
In fact, I had assumed in my head from the start that I would 'help myself' by hiding every better card in my hat. Even though it had been a long time since I had played poker, my muscle memory was good enough to know calmly how and at what point to hide a card. My gameplay was more or less like this: I put the worse cards on the table straight away, betting the chips for the money I came into the game with, and neatly hid the better ones under my hat so that I could use them in an emergency. And overall it worked. After the 10th round of card picking I had four aces and one in my hat, which I kept for a rainy day. When the 11th round of card picking started it was my turn. I drew a card from the pack of cards and it turned out that I had drawn an ace!
"5 aces, I won!" I said ceremoniously placing the 5 aces on the table revealing them to my opponents. Everyone stared at me with admiration and approval except Jack, who seemed to know something was wrong. He looked at me and my pack of cards with suspicion. Jack most likely knew that I had done too well. My pulse quickened every time he stared straight into my eyes. It seemed that in a moment he would pull his hat off my head and everything would be revealed! I pretended to be confident in myself and my cards, but deep down I knew that probably my face had already betrayed me. I was sweating practically all over and my face was numb from smiling artfully.
"What's under your hat?" Asked Jack pointing his finger at a card that I must have accidentally knocked down when I put the pack of cards on the table top! A piece of the card was sticking out of the hat!
"What, it's nothing ..." I tried to explain myself when Jack pulled the card out from under the hat with a quick flick of his hand.
"Another ace ...cheat!" Exclaimed Jack throwing the card on the table. I instinctively got up from my chair and started backing towards the door as the 4 dogs started to get dangerously close to me.
"Gentlemen, the card must have tangled with me, really..." I tried to explain myself, but seeing their razor sharp fangs on display I knew that persuasion was unlikely to work on them. Now I was really scared and didn't know what to do...except for one thing. My heart was beating like crazy, I looked for any way of escape, but there were no windows here only candles! I threw myself into a run towards the ajar door and almost managed to grab the handle, when I felt someone pull my leg and...and...that's pretty much all I remember, because the rest I don't think I want to know anymore."
"Oh, it's terrible that you didn't manage to escape!" Said a terrified Perrito as he listened to Puss's story as he gazed up at the starry sky. He sighed heavily remembering how little it took to touch that doorknob that allowed him to escape the room. Who knows, maybe if he had taken off running a second earlier he would have kept one of his lives. As he thought about it he felt a cold touch on his shoulder and suddenly heard a loud:
"Woof! Woof! Woof!"
With the speed of light, Puss instinctively jumped up grabbing onto a branch suspended a few metres above him. With his heart beating like a hammer and his fur frightened (as cats do when they are defending themselves) he grasped with all his might at the branch with his eyes closed, holding on to it as if his life depended on it.
A moment later he heard Kitty laughing loudly, struggling to catch her oxygen from laughing! It took a moment for it to occur to Puss that he had fallen for his friend's trick again...
"Kitty!" growled Puss in embarrassment. He let go of the branch and landed on his seat where he had been sitting and stared in embarrassment at the black and white cat, who was wiping her eyes of tears. Perrito couldn't stand it this time and was also rolling on the ground laughing while looking at Puss, who was impatiently waiting for the two friends to finish laughing so he could finish the story.
"Hahahah, Puss I didn't know you were so scared of so many things! First the bulls, now the dogs! What's next?" Said Kitty, when her goofiness had passed enough that she managed to stop herself from laughing.
"Ha, you took me by surprise, and that doesn't count! Anyway...
My death in San Sebastian was not in vain. When I woke up in hospital a doctor came to see me and informed me that I had used up one of my lives. He asked me if I had played with Jackie's gang, I replied in the affirmative, of course, to which the man waved his head negatively.
"Be glad they only took one life," the doctor said, then left the room. All in all, I didn't know what that meant, but fortunately I think I could already feel safe, I think one death of mine was enough for them to pay off their "debt". Unfortunately, I had no money left. My only one was lost in the casino and I didn't even have one coin to buy even a Leche! A job in this town would also be rather hard to find, I can't rent a horse and I promised myself a long time ago that I wouldn't steal! Everything seemed to have gone wrong, but the same woman from whom I had taken the lottery entered the room. I was perplexed, what could she want from me?
"Mr Puss in Boots?" The woman asked. I nodded uncertainly with a movement of my head. The woman hurriedly pulled a scrap of paper from her handbag, it turned out to be my lottery!
"Congratulations Mr Puss in Boots! You have won the grand prize, a chest of gold! " the woman communicated. For a few seconds the news came to me. I had won the top prize in a lottery that I didn't even believe in! I was completely shocked by what I heard!
"I...won?" I asked uncertainly. The woman nodded with a movement of her head.
"That's right! Please sign for the lottery and report to the town hall where they will issue you your prize" The woman communicated. I was in euphoria. The news that I had won at least five times as much in the lottery as I could in the casino made me not even bother about my death! I felt that I now had a multitude of options on what I could spend the money on and I came up with an idea..."
