In the morning they would be took before Squire
Matthews, that was justice of the peace. They
would be fined a big fine, and he would get all the
drummer had won and all he had brung to town with
him besides. Squire Matthews and Jake Smith
and Windy Goodell and Mart Watson, which the
two last was lawyers, was always playing that there
game on drummers that was fool enough to play
poker. Hank, he says he bet they divided it up
afterward, though it was supposed them fines went
to the town. Well, they played a purty closte
game of poker in our little town. It was jest like
the doctor says to Looey:
"By George," he says, "it is a well-nigh perfect
thing. If you lose you lose, and if you win you
lose."
Well, the doctor, he had started out winning the
night before. And Si Emery and Ralph Scott had
arrested them. And that morning, while I had
been laying by the crick and the rest of the town was
seeing the fun, they had been took afore Squire
Matthews and fined one hundred and twenty-five
dollars apiece. The doctor, he tells Squire Mat-
thews it is an outrage, and it ain't legal if tried
in a bigger court, and they ain't that much money
in the world so fur as he knows, and he won't pay
it. But, the squire, he says the time has come to
teach them travelling fakirs as is always running
around the country with shows and electric belts
and things that they got to stop dreening that
town of hard-earned money, and he has decided
to make an example of 'em.
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