The Dealer in the Gambling Den

Some people say that Wooley, alias Sedro, is a tough place, that its whisky is away below par, and that its gambling games are unblushing skin games. Those who express such an opinion do the town an injustice. It is true that the citizens of Wooley do not put on dress suits and boiled shirts when they go to call on their friends; a man who takes more than a moderate dose of whisky may get his feet tangled together, or his language may be loaded with sultry epithets. But these gentlemen have a high appreciation of the beautiful in at least one direction. One would expect that they would be satisfied with a man like unto themselves to sit behind the faro or stud-poker table—a man with shirt sleeves rolled up, a big chain dangling from his vest, a paste diamond in his shirt bosom, a pair of cold steely eyes and a bloated face. Most men think such an individual good enough to lose their money to. But not so with the boys at Wooley. Follow them on Saturday evening, after they have drawn their pay at the sawmill or logging camp, and they will drift into Murdock's gambling rooms. You naturally join the biggest crowd and find it is gathered around the stud-poker table. The dealer is no common male gambler, but is a woman of most entrancing beauty. She looks to be hardly 18 years old. A simple tailor-made dress fits closely to her dainty figure. She has a rich mass of dark hair, soft dark eyes and a complexion of such freshness and purity as needs the aid of no powder. She is not overloaded with jewelry, for a solitary diamond ring sparkles on one of the fingers of those small, perfectly-formed hands which nimbly scatter the cards. Her demeanor is marked by every sign of modesty, and 'the boys' restrain their natural inclinations to damn their luck as her dainty fingers seize the bets they have lost. The game is probably no more 'on the square' than any other stud-poker game in the country, but no one murmurs. In fact, the men crowd up to lose their money to her. It is esteemed a high honor to be the victim of such charming personification of fortune.