"
Orde turned to survey the pink-cheeked, embarrassed young boy thus
designated.
"How many glasses did Johnny Challan have?" he inquired.
"He didn't drink none to speak of," spoke up the boy.
"Then why this joyless demeanour?" begged Orde.
Charlie grumbled, fiercely inarticulate; but Johnny Challan
interposed with a chuckle of enjoyment.
"He got 'bunked.'"
"Tell us!" cried Orde delightedly.
"It was down at McNeill's place," explained Johnny Challan;
encouraged by the interest of his audience. "They was a couple of
sports there who throwed out three cards on the table and bet you
couldn't pick the jack. They showed you where the jack was before
they throwed, and it surely looked like a picnic, but it wasn't."
"Three-card monte," said Newmark.
"How much?" asked Simms.
"About fifty dollars," replied the boy.
Orde turned on the disgruntled cook.
"And you had fifty in your turkey, camping with this outfit of hard
citizens!" he cried. "You ought to lose it."
Johnny Challan was explaining to his companions exactly how the game
was played.
"It's a case of keep your eye on the card, I should think," said big
Tim Nolan. "If you got a quick enough eye to see him flip the card
around, you ought to be able to pick her.
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