Part 13 (1/2)
”Bet you five more.”
Blix looked at her hand. Then, without trace of expression in her voice or face, said:
”There's your five, and I'll raise you five.”
”Five better.”
”And five better than that.”
”Call you.”
”Full house. Aces on tens,” said Blix, throwing down her cards.
”Heavens! they're good as gold,” muttered Condy as Blix gathered in the chips.
An hour later she had won all the chips but five.
”Now we'll stop and get to fis.h.i.+ng again; don't you want to?”
He agreed, and she counted the chips.
”Condy, you owe me seven dollars and a half,” she announced.
Condy began to smile. ”Well,” he said jocosely, ”I'll send you around a check to-morrow.”
But at this Blix was cross upon the instant. ”You wouldn't do that--wouldn't talk that way with one of your friends at the club!” she exclaimed; ”and it's not right to do it with me. Condy, give me seven dollars and a half. When you play cards with me it's just as though it were with another man. I would have paid you if you had won.”
”But I haven't got more than nine dollars. Who'll pay for the supper to-night at Luna's, and our railroad fare going home?”
”I'll pay.”
”But I--I can't afford to lose money this way.”
”Shouldn't have played, then. I took the same chances as you. Condy, I want my money.”
”You--you--why you've regularly flimflammed me.”
”Will you give me my money?”
”Oh, take your money then!”
Blix shut the money in her purse, and rose, dusting her dress.
”Now,” she said--”now that the pastime of card-playing is over, we will return to the serious business of life, which is the catching--no, 'KILLING' of lake trout.”
At five o'clock in the afternoon, Condy pulled up the anchor of railroad iron and rowed back to Richardson's. Blix had six trout to her credit, but Condy's ill-luck had been actually ludicrous.
”I can hold a string in the water as long as anybody,” he complained, ”but I'd like to have the satisfaction of merely changing the bait OCCASIONALLY. I've not had a single bite--not a nibble, y' know, all day. Never mind, you got the big trout, Blix; that first one. That five minutes was worth the whole day. It's been glorious, the whole thing. We'll come down here once a week right along now.”