The Purchase Price; Or, The Cause of Compromise

by Emerson Hough

  CHAPTER IV

  THE GAME

  They made a group not uninteresting as they gathered about thetable in the deck saloon. The youngest of the four received thedeference generally accorded the uniform he wore, and returned theregard due age and station in the civilian world. For the momentrid of one annoying question, he was quite his better self, andadded his quota in the preliminary badinage of the game. Acrossthe table from him sat Judge Henry Clayton of New Madrid, a talland slender gentleman with silky white mustaches and imperial,gentle of speech, kindly of countenance, and with soft, whitehands, whose long fingers now idly raised and let fall some of theparti-colored tokens of the game.

  They made a group not uninteresting.]

  At Clayton's side, Dunwody, younger, larger and more powerful, madesomething of a contrast. Both these gentlemen had removed theircoats and hung them across the backs of chairs, evidently intendinga serious session. In this procedure the last of the party nowfollowed suit,--the Honorable William Jones, state senator fromBelmont, Missouri. Seating himself, the latter now in turn beganshuffling a pack between fingers short, puffy, freckled andexperienced. His stooped shoulders thrust forward a beardlessround face, whose permanently arched eyebrows seemed to ask acontinuous question, his short, dark hair receded from a highforehead, and a thick mid-body betokened alike middle age and easyliving. A planter of the back country, and a politician, hiscapital was a certain native shrewdness and little else. Ofcourse, in company such as this, and at such a day, theconversation must drift toward the ever fruitful topic of slavery.

  "No, sir," began the Honorable William Jones, indulging himself inthe luxury of tobacco as he addressed his companions, "there ain'tno doubt about it. Us Southerners orto take all that new countrywest of the Missoury, clean acrost to the Pacific."

  The older gentleman smiled at him. "You forget California," saidhe. "She is already in, and free by her own vote."

  "An' a crime aginst the natural rights of the South! Sir, theinstitution of slavery is as old as history. It is as old as thefirst settlement of agricultural man upon one piece of ground.It's as old as the idea of sovereignty itself."

  Dunwody gave a sly wink at his neighbor, Judge Clayton. The lattersank back in his chair resigned. Indeed, he proceeded toprecipitate what he knew was to come.

  "Sir, England herself," he assented gravely, "is the oldest ofslavers. The Saxons, of whom we speak as the fathers of freedom,were the worst slave masters in the world--they sold their very kininto slavery at times."

  The Honorable William Jones was impatient of interruption. "Comin'to our own side of the sea, gentlemen, what do we find? NewEngland foremost in the slave trade! New York, ownin' onct moreslaves than Virginny ever did! Georgia was fo'ced to take on slavelabor, although she had tried to do without it. _Every_ race,_every_ nation, sirs, has accepted the theory of slave labor. Whatsays Mr. Gibbon in his great work--in his remarkable work, histreasure house of learnin'--_The Decline and Fall of the RomanEmpire_--if I had my copy here I could put my finger on to the veryplace where he says it, sirs. Why, sirs, in the _Decline andFall_--I could show you the very line and chapter if I had my copyhere--but it's up in my room--I could show you the very chapter onslavery, by the Lord Harry! sir, where Mr. Foote, of the state ofMississippi, in his last speech down in that country, sirs,--"

  "Now, now, Jones," Dunwody raised a restraining hand at length,"just sit down. Don't go get your copy of the _Decline and Fall_.We're willing to take some of that for granted. Let's get at thepleasant task of taking away all the money of this Free Soilgentleman from the North. _Non_ politics, _non_ religion, _sed_poker! That's why we're here."

  The Honorable William Jones, his eloquence thus dammed up, seemedto experience a sudden restriction of the throat, and coughed onceor twice. "I will go against the said poker just onct," said he;"but, ahem!"

  "I would suggest," said Dunwody, "that before we tempt the gods offortune we should first pour a libation for their favor. What doyou say, sir?" He turned to Jones and winked at Clayton.

  "No, no, no, sir! No, I thank you just as much, but I never drinkmore than onct in a day. At home it varies. On some days I likemy liquor in the mornin', some days just before bedtime, especiallyif there is any malary about, as there is in most of mycountry--indeed, I think there is some malary in these Ohio bottomsup here."

  "That fact is beyond dispute," ventured Judge Clayton gravely. "Inshort, I myself feel in danger as we pass through these heavyforests."

  "Quite so," assented the Honorable William Jones. "Sometimes Itake a drink in the mornin' before breakfast, especially if thereis malary around, as I said; sometimes before dinner, but only one;or, sometimes right after dinner, like now. Difference among men,ain't there? Some say it's wrong to drink before breakfast.Others say one drink then goes farther'n six later in the day. Forme, now, only one drink a day. Unless--that is, of course--unlessthere is some very special occasion, such as--"

  "Such as that offered by this most malarious country," ventured thejudge gravely.

  "Well, yes, since you mention it, on such an occasion as this. ButTom--" turning to the colored boy, "Make it very light; ver-r-rylight. Hold on thah, you rascal, not too light!"

  The Honorable William Jones set an example in which he was joinedtemperately by the judge, the others contenting themselves incompleting their arrangements for the game. The tokens weredistributed, and in accordance with the custom of the time, thetable soon was fairly well covered with money of divers sorts, goldcoin, a lesser amount of silver, bills issued by many and diversbanks in this or that portion of the country.

  Silence fell when the game really began. The Honorable WilliamJones at first ever and anon threatened to erupt into Roman factsand figures, but chilly glances made his answer. Half an hour, andthe passing of time was forgot.

  At first the cards ran rather severely against the judge, andrather in favor of the historian, who played "the said poker" withsuch thoroughness that presently there appeared before him a raggedpile of currency and coin. Dunwody and Carlisle were losers, butfinally Dunwody began to edge in upon the accumulated winnings ofhis neighbor on the right. An hour passed, two hours, more. Theboat plowed on down-stream. Presently the colored boy began tolight lamps. There came to the faces of all the tense look, thedrawn and lined visage which is concomitant to play forconsiderable stakes. A frown came on the florid countenance of theyoung officer. The pile of tokens and currency before him lessenedsteadily. At last, in fact, he began to show uneasiness. Hethrust a hand into a pocket where supplies seemed to have grownscarce. There is small mercy in a game of poker hard played, butat least one of his opponents caught some such signal of distress.Dunwody looked up from his own last hand.

  "Don't leave us just yet, friend," he said. "You may draw on mefor all you like, if you care to continue. We shall see that youget a ticket back home. No man can ask more than that!"

  "I have a thousand acres of cotton land 'n a hunnerd niggerswaitin' for me to git home," said the Honorable William Jones, "an'by hockey, I raise the ante to twenty dollars right hyer! Are youall comin' in?"

  "I have at least that much left in my locker," answered JudgeClayton. "What do you say to doubling that?"

  "Suit me," said Dunwody briefly; they nodded assent all around, butthe younger man ventured:

  "Suppose I sit with you for one jack-pot, gentlemen. The hour isgrowing late for me, and I must plead other duties. When a man isboth busy and broke, it is time for him to consider."

  "No, no," expostulated the Honorable William Jones, who long sincehad forgotten his rule regarding one drink a day. "No, no, notbroke, and not busy! Not at all!"

  "I don't know," said Dunwody. "Suppose we make it one morejack-pot all around?" They agreed to this. It was Judge Clayton'sdeal.

  "Gimme at least three," began the senator from Belmont, puckeringout his lips in discontent.

  "Three good ones," consented the judge. "How many
for the rest ofyou?"

  Dunwody shook his head. "I'll stand as it is, please."

  The judge quietly discarded two cards, Carlisle having done thesame. The betting now went about with more than one increase fromthe Honorable William Jones, whose eyes apparently were seeinglarge. At last the "call" came from Carlisle, who smilingly movedthe bulk of his remaining fortune toward the center of the table.Thereupon, with a bland and sane smile, the Honorable William Jonesshook his head and folded his cards together. The judge displayedqueens and tens, the gentleman opposite queens and deuces. Dunwodylaid down his own hand, which showed aces and fours. They allsighed.

  "Gentlemen, you all deserve to win," said Dunwody. "I feel like athief."

  "I have a thousand acres of niggers 'n four hunnerd cotton lands,"remarked the Honorable William Jones, amiably, "says you can't doit again. I can prove it from Mr. Gibbon's _'Cline 'n Fall_."

  Judge Clayton rose, laughing, slapping Dunwody on the shoulder andgiving an arm to Mr. Jones, whom he assisted to his room.