Frank Merriwells Chums | Page 7

to Bart, and he shuffled the cards and tossed them
round in a way that betokened considerable dexterity and practice.
The boys were inclined to be jolly, but they were forced to restrain their
feelings as far as possible, for, although the rooms near them were
unoccupied, there was danger that they might be heard by some one
who would investigate, and their sentinel might not be able to give the
warning in time.
As Frank Merriwell watched the game, a peculiar light stole into his
eyes, and he was swayed by ill-repressed excitement. He was tempted
to get up and go away for all that anybody might say, but he did not go;
he lingered, and he was overcome by an irresistible longing--a desire he
could not govern. Finally, he exclaimed:
"What's the use for me to sit humped up here! Give me a hand, and let
me in."

CHAPTER IV.
A GAME OF BLUFF.
"That's the talk, old man!" exclaimed Harvey Dare, with satisfaction.
"Now you are beginning to appear natural."
The other boys were only too glad to get Frank into the game, and
room was quickly made for him, while he was given a hand.
The moment he decided to play, he seemed to throw off the air of
restraint that had been about him since he discovered the kind of
company Bart Hodge had brought him into. He became his
free-and-easy, jolly self, soon cracking a joke or two that set the boys
laughing, and beginning by taking the very first pot on the table after
entering the game.
"That's bad luck," he said, with a laugh. "The fellow who wins at the
start usually loses at the finish, so I may as well consider my fortune
yours. Some of you will become enormously wealthy in about fifteen
minutes, for I won't last longer than that if my luck turns."
He soon betrayed that he was familiar with the game, and luck ran to
him in a way that made the other boys look tired. He seemed able to
draw anything he wanted.
"Say!" gasped Sam Winslow, in admiration; "I shouldn't think you'd
want to play poker--oh, no! If I had your luck, I'd play poker as a
profession. Why, if you drew to a spike, you'd get a railroad! I never
saw anything like it."
Wat Snell had been losing right along, and he sneered:
"There's an old saying, 'A fool for luck,' you know."
"It applies in this case," laughed Frank. "If I wasn't a fool, I wouldn't be
in this game."

"What's the matter with this game?" asked Harris. "Isn't the limit high
enough to suit you?"
"That's the matter," said Dare, swiftly. "Let's raise the limit."
"Let's throw it off," urged Snell. "What's the use of limit, any how?"
Frank shook his head.
"I don't believe in a no-limit game," he said. "There are none of us
millionaires."
"And for that very reason, none of us will play a heavy game," said
Sam. "We have played a no-limit game before, and nobody ever bets
more than a dollar or so. That doesn't happen once a game, either."
"Twenty-five cents is usually the limit of our bets," declared Harris.
"Then raise the limit to a quarter," said Frank. "I am willing to give you
fellows a show to get back your money."
But they did not fancy having the limit a quarter, and quite a long
argument ensued, which resulted in the game being resumed as a
no-limit affair.
"There!" breathed Wat Snell, "this is something like it. Now I can do
something. If a fellow wanted to bluff he couldn't do it on a ten-cent
limit."
Hodge had said very little, but he seemed willing and ready to throw
off the limit.
The change of limit did not seem to affect Merriwell's luck, for he
continued to win.
"I believe you are a wizard!" exclaimed Sam Winslow. "You seem to
read a fellow's cards."
Wat Snell growled continually, and the more he growled the more he

lost.
"Oh, wait till I catch 'em by-and-by," he said, as he saw Frank rake in a
good pot. "I won't do a thing to you, if I get a good chance!"
"If you have the cards, you will win," was the reply. "They are coming
for me now, and I am simply playing 'em."
Hodge had lost something, but he said little, being more than satisfied
as long as Frank was winning.
Thus the hours passed.
By one o'clock Frank was far ahead of the game, but he still played on,
for he knew it would not seem right for him to propose stopping.
Dare, Harris and Winslow were nearly broken, but they still hung on,
hoping for a turn in their direction. Snell had plenty of