Black Cat Weekly #67

Chapter 8

by

Leaning back in his chair, Thubway Tham grinned broadly and looked across the table at Nifty Noel, whose countenance was inscrutable. The other men who were grouped near the table looked on with bated breath.

In the center of the table there were heaps of currency, cravat pins of worth, and even two gold watches. Thubway Tham held five playing cards in his hand, and so did Nifty Noel. The former had been “called” by the latter. The long and hard-fought poker battle was nearing its end.

“Tho you call me, do you?” Thubway Tham asked, grinning broadly again.

“I do!” Nifty Noel replied.

“Nifty, for the patht few monthth you and your aththothiatcth have been trimmin’ me richly and with great regularity, ath the man thaid. I am willing to admit that. But all thingth have an end. There ith a thilver linin’ to every cloud. And now the day hath come when—”

“Well, what have you got?” Nifty Noel interrupted. “Cease the chatter And show your hand.”

“Boy,” Thubway Tham replied, “I hold in thith hand that which will cauthe you to weep. When you thee thith hand of mine, you are goin’ to thay to yourthelf that ath a poker player you are a fine, ecthpert blackthmith!”

“Yes?” Noel asked.

“Yeth!” Thubway Tham replied. “Here ith where I collect. Here ith where the gold and prethiouth gemth come home to papa! Right here and now, Nifty Noel, ith where you have to go to work again. Your ill-gotten gainth are comin’ my way! I think you have been bluffin’ all the time.”

“I called you,” Nifty Noel reminded him. “You certainly can hand out a mess of talk when you get started and feel like it. But why not do something besides talk? If you’ve got anything, why not show it?”

“Thith ith what you might call a dramatic thithuation,” Thubway Tham explained, grinning yet once more. “Thith ith the great thrill of thuthpenthe. Ath a great and thpecial favor to you, Nifty. I am lettin’ you believe, for one minute longer, that you have thome chanthe at what ith in the middle of the table. But it ith only a bluff, Noel—you have no chanthe!”

“No?”

“No!” Thubway Tham declared. “Jutht catht your opticth over thethe five cardth, Noel! You may throw away the one to the left. I need only the other four. There they are, Noel! Get out your handkerchief and thtart weepin’. Four kingth in a row! Now you may throw thothe pathteboardth you are holdin’ on the table, and I’ll gather in the loot!”

“One moment, please!” Nifty Noel commanded. “Pause an instant! You had me actually thinking for a moment, Tham, that you had a real hand. I was almost scared, Tham. That goes to show how foolish a man is to get scared.”

“I thuppothe you think that four kingth in a row ith a bum hand?” Thubway Tham asked.

“It is a very good hand, Tham—at times. But this doesn’t happen to be one of the times.”

“No?”

“No!” said Nifty Noel. “I am afraid that you’ll have to hurry down to the subway, Tham, old-timer, and proceed to lift a few fat leathers. It is my sad duty to relate to you. Tham, that you are cleaned out!”

“Well, my goodnethth! What with?” Thubway Tham requested to know, the grin leaving his face speedily.

“Kindly observe,” Nifty Noel said. He spread his five cards down on the table before him and waved his hand in a graceful, eloquent, and expressive gesture. Thubway Tham bent forward to look, and those who were around the table stepped up to see better.

“There is your death warrant, old-timer!” Nifty Noel continued. “That string of cards makes four kings look like less than nothing. A straight flush, boy. all diamonds and queen high! And kindly remember, at this juncture, that you dealt this hand yourself. Don’t forget that!”

There came a burst of raucous laughter that caused the face of Thubway Tham to turn red for an instant. Nifty Noel, smiling for the first time since the poker duel had started, raked in the currency, the pins, and watches, and stuffed the loot into his pockets. Thubway Tham was “cleaned.”

Detective Craddock, walking slowly along a crosscut in Madison Square, stopped suddenly, peered ahead, and chuckled. Then he advanced again and came to a stop at one end of a bench upon which sat a melancholy figure.

“If it isn’t my old friend, Tham!” Detective Craddock said.

Tham turned his head as though the effort pained him. “Tho!” he said. “A man’th troubleth never come thingly. Jutht when I am feelin’ bad, I have to thee your ugly fathe!”

“I gather from your remarks and appearance, old boy, that you have grief,” Detective Craddock said. “You look as though you had lost your last friend and never expected to find another. Has the market been going against you?”

“That ith right—laugh.” Tham told him angrily. “You are alwayth ready to jump on a man when he ith down.”

“Why, Tham!” Detective Craddock exclaimed. “You look to be beside yourself. What seems to be the trouble?”

“It ith none of your buthinethth!” Thubway Tham informed him.

“Perhaps I may be of service,” Craddock said. “I realize that, in your present mood, you are rather good for nothing. You would not attempt to pick a pocket, for instance, and if you do not do that, how am I to catch you with the goods? And so I would help you out of your misery, old boy, that we might both profit.”

“Thimp!” Tham said growlingly.

Detective Craddock seated himself on the bench beside Thubway Tham and looked at him closely. “All jokes aside,” he said, “what is the trouble, Tham?”

“I am an athth, a thimp, an eathy mark!” Thubway Tham said. “I never had any thenthe, and I ain’t got any now. I’ve been played for a thucker tho often that I am one! If there wath a thouthand ticketth in a lottery and I held all but one of them, I’d lothe!”

“Uh-huh!” Craddock said. “I understand, Tham. You’ve been playing poker again.”

“How did you know that?”

“Oh, I know the symptoms,” Detective Craddock declared. “I’ve played—er, tried to play—a few times, myself, in the past. And so you’ve been losing?”

“I’ll thay that I have!” Thubway Tham remarked. “Craddock, I held four kingth—”

“Uh-huh! And the other fellow beat it! I know!” Craddock said, the tone of reminiscence in his voice. “I’ve been there, old boy. When did the catastrophe occur?”

“Latht night,” Tham said. “I had to borrow a dollar from Nothey Moore to pay for my breakfatht.”

“As bad as that?” asked Craddock. “You must have had a lot of faith in those four kings. But not your trust in—er—princes, Tham. If it had been four treys you probably would have won.”

“Go on and laugh,” Tham said bitterly. “Jump on a man when he ith down! Kick in hith fathe!”

“Easy,” Craddock said. “I’m not laughing at you, Tham. You have my sincere sympathy. I—er—notice that your cravat pin is missing. And what time is it, Tham?”

“If you will look acrothth the thquare, you’ll thee the time in the big clock in the tower,” Tham told him.

“That’s how you’re telling time now, is it?” Craddock asked, grinning.

Thubway Tham turned toward him a countenance that was severe and determined in its appearance.

“Craddock,” he said, “you can laugh now, but you’ll never have a chance to laugh at me again.”

“How’s that?” Craddock wanted to know.

“Becauthe,” said Thubway Tham, “I am done! I’m through, and I quit. Hereafter I do not intend to gamble in any way, thhape, form, or manner!”

“Ha, ha!” Craddock roared. “Hee, hee! Going to reform, Tham?”

“You heard me, Craddock. I quit! There ith no thenthe in it. Never again do I gamble. It ith a wathte of time.”

“I’ve heard gents talk in the same strain before,” Detective Craddock said.

“But I mean it.”

“So did they, Tham, when they said it. And a little later the old fever would come on ’em, and it was all off. Your reform does you credit, Tham, old boy, but it’ll not last long.”

“No? I’ll bet you that it will latht!”

“I wouldn’t take the bet, Tham. It wouldn’t be gentlemanly to bet with a friend on an absolutely sure thing. You’ll be into some game before tomorrow night, midnight.”

“You may think ath you pleathe,” Tham told him. “But—I quit! I’m done! I’ll thpend my coin on thomething thenthible after thith. You watch me!”

“Er—speaking of watching you, Tham, that might not be such a bad idea. I gather that you are penniless and want to get your watch and pin back. That calls for ready cash. Tham, I’ve a notion that I’d better keep you under surveillance for a time. You might be tempted to descend into the subway and nick a few men for their rolls. Our honest citizens must be protected.”

“Yeth?” Tham said. “When it cometh to honetht thitizenth, thith town hathn’t many.”

“Oh, not everybody is a poker shark. Tham!”

“I withh you would not mention poker,” Thubway Tham told him. “It bringth back thad memorieth.”

“Are you thinking of taking a little ride in the subway. If you are, I might go along to keep you company,” said Craddock.

“It ith not at all netheththary,” Tham declared. “Let me alone with my thorrow.”

“Uh-huh! Then there’ll be other folks grieving,” Detective Craddock informed him. “We had a complaint a few days ago from a man who claims that he lost a wallet containing some three hundred dollars while riding in the subway.”

“Thome folkth are awful carelethth,” Tham said.

“The gentleman felt quite sure that his pocket had been picked, you see.”

“Why tell me about it?” Tham asked.

“I was wondering where you got the coin to go into that big poker game. I’ve heard all about it, Tham. It’s all over town.”

“Ith it?”

“Nifty Noel says he’s going to buy the swellest suit of clothes in the city with your coin.”

“He ith, ith he? Let him!” said Thubway Tham. “Let him buy a dothen necktieth! Let him buy purple thockth and yellow thpatth. What do I care?”

“How do you expect to get square with him if you never play poker again?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t care!” Tham said. “But I am not goin’ to play poker again. And I am not goin’ to gamble in any way, thhape, form, or manner! Put that in your pipe and thmoke it, Craddock!”

“No, I’ve better and truer fuel for my pipe than that,” the detective replied. “Did you say you were going to take a little ride in the subway?”

“I didn’t thay.”

“All right, Tham. I can’t remain with you at present. But I may look you up later in the day.”

“Don’t thtrain yourthelf,” Tham advised him. “If I do not thee you again, I’ll manage to thtruggle along.”

The detective laughed and stood up. He glanced down at Thubway Tham, speculatively. Tham’s face was long, and there was an expression of despair in it. Craddock chuckled and went on along the walk.

Detective Craddock had no more than reached the nearest street when a change came over Thubway Tham. He had been watching the detective from the corners of his eyes. He made certain that Craddock had hurried toward Fourth Avenue as though on important business, and then he left the bench and walked briskly toward Fifth Avenue.

Thubway Tham was determined that no more would he indulge in games of chance. And, also, he was determined to replenish his purse immediately and redeem his pin and watch, which Nifty Noel had promised to keep for him.

“A man who gambleth ith an athth,” Thubway Tham told himself. “Why take a chanthe? Why not thpend coin for thomethin’ that amountth to thomethin’?”

He crossed over to Broadway and continued to Times Square. As he neared one of the subway entrances there, he made sure that no detective or plain-clothes man he knew was near and watching him. Suddenly he darted down the steps and made his way swiftly to the platform.

Thubway Tham boarded a downtown express and looked around for a victim. It is enough to say that he found one, and that the wallet he acquired contained forty dollars. It was not a large amount for the risk involved, but it was far better than nothing.

Tham made two more trips without success, and then, during the rush hour, came good fortune. He found, standing near him,. a portly gentleman whose thoughts seemed to be at a distance. He brushed against his man and found that he carried a wallet in his hip pocket.

A wallet carried in a hip pocket was an invitation to Thubway Tham. As the train dashed into a station and came to a stop, Tham gained possession of the wallet. He found that the haul netted him five hundred dollars in even money.

Thubway Tham grinned and felt considerably better. He was in funds again. Now he could redeem his watch and pin. He walked down the avenue briskly and journeyed into a side street and to the lodging house where Nifty Noel had a room. He found a game in progress. Nifty Noel and three others were playing poker.

“I want my watch and pin, Nifty Noel,” Tham said, curling his lips in a sneer. “Dig them up and I’ll thhell out the coin.”

“You certainly work fast,” Noel said. “Gathered in that much coin already, have you?”

“Did you think you broke me latht night?”

“I know blamed well that I did, and you know it, too,” Nifty Noel replied. “However, it is none of my business where you got the coin, if you’ve got it. Here is your watch and your pin, old-timer. Come across with the cash.”

Thubway Tham took the huge roll of bills from his pocket. He extracted what was necessary to redeem his jewelry and returned the remainder. Nifty Noel’s eyes bulged.

“Want revenge. Tham?” he asked. “If you do, sit in!”

“No, thir! I am done gamblin’!” Thubway Tham declared.

“Afraid to risk a few dollars?”

“It ith not that. I am jutht done with gameth of chanthe,” Tham answered. “There ith no thenthe in them. I quit!”

“Reforming?” Noel asked.

“You can call it that,” said Thubway Tham.

“Forget it, and come into the game,” Noel told him. “Don’t be sore because you lost last night.”

“I am not thore! If you want to think that, go right ahead and think it,” Tham told him. “I’m done! No poker, no crapth, no nothin’ like that.”

“Ha, ha!” Noel laughed. “I’ve got a picture of you keeping out of all games, Tham. You can’t do it! I’ll bet you can’t!”

“Thilly athth! Wouldn’t I be gamblin’ if I bet?” Tham said.

He thought that he had carried it off rather well. He left the room, stuffing his watch into the pocket where it belonged and fixing his pin in his tie. He had passed the first temptation and felt strength renewed. He would meet every temptation and conquer it!

Tham hurried down the street to a restaurant he favored and ate with relish. Then he went out upon the street again. He found that being in funds and having eaten a good meal did much to brighten a man’s spirits. He felt like whistling. The world was good again.

Stepping into a cigar store to purchase a package of cigarettes. Thubway Tham found the clerk winking at him.

“There’s a little game in the backroom. Tham,” the clerk whispered. “Just knock three times on the door.”

“I am not interethted,” Tham said.

“Broke?”

“No, thir!”

“Well, then— You ain’t sick, are you. Tham?”

“Thertainly not! I never felt better in my life.”

“I never saw you refuse to get into a game before.”

“You will again,” said Tham and walked from the place.

It was rather a pity, too, he told himself. He knew the men who played in that back room. It was one crowd Tham could play with and have a good chance to emerge victor. With the stake he now had, he felt that he could have gone into that game and possibly regained what he had lost to Nifty Noel.

But he had reformed! He had decided against gambling! He was a man with an iron will!

On the next corner, an acquaintance stopped Thubway Tham. “Tham,” he said, “I’ve got a dandy tip on the third race today. Want in on it? Give me a percentage if you win?”

“I do not play the ponieth,” Tham declared.

“Since when?”

“Thinthe thith mornin’,” Tham said. “I have thtopped gamblin’.”

“Tryin’ to kid me? If you’re broke, say so!”

“Broke?” said Tham. He showed a roll of bills that made the other man’s eyes bulge. “I am not broke. But I am not bettin’ on any ponieth.”

“Are you feeling quite well, Tham?”

“I ain’t thick!” Thubway Tham exclaimed. “I’ve jutht got thome common thenthe, that ith all!”

He went on up the street toward the lodging house conducted by “Nosey” Moore, where Tham had a room. Temptation was on every side, Tham decided. It took a strong man to resist. But he had resisted so far, and he fully intended to continue resisting. No poker! No races! No craps!

Still, Tham told himself, it would have been a great thing to have broken even. There would have been a lot of satisfaction in winning from somebody enough to offset what he had lost to Nifty Noel. If he had that money back he would have quite a stake in his pockets.

However, the straight and narrow path might be rugged, but Thubway Tham was determined to follow it. He would go to his room and rest and read the papers, and in the evening he would go to a movie show. If he could resist temptation until the morrow, he felt that he would have the moral strength to resist it forever!

Tham came to the lodging house and ascended to the second floor. Nosey Moore sat behind his battered counter, his feet upon his old desk. He was chuckling, and the tears were running down his cheeks.

“My goodnethth!” Tham gasped out. “What theemth to be the matter, Nothey? Have you been looking upon the wine when it ith red, or thomething like that?”

“It’s a good joke, Tham.”

“What ith?” Tham demanded.

“You know Bully Blane?”

“Of courthe,” Tham replied. “He ith one of our betht burglarth. What hath Bully Blane been doin’?”

“I suppose the police would like to know,” Moore responded. “I don’t know what he’s been doin’, but it certainly was profitable. Bully Blane came in here today with a roll that would choke a cow. He paid for his room two months in advance. And it’s a blamed good thing that he did.”

“How ith that?” Tham asked.

“Bully Blane has an idea that he can shoot craps,” Moore continued. “He’s up in number ten now, tryin’ it. Six different men have gone in there and come out with a month’s expenses. Tham, he can’t have a bit of luck. That big roll of his is gettin’ smaller every minute. You’d better hurry if you want to get yours.”

Thubway Tham gulped. “I dethided jutht thith mornin’ to thtop all kindth of gamblin’,” he said.

“What’s that?” Nosey Moore sat up straight in his chair. “You tryin’ to hand me a laugh, too? Bully Blane was bad enough.”

“It ith the truth!” Tham declared.

“A touch of the hot sun, I reckon,” Moore declared. “Well, it is none of my business. But if I were you, I’d get into that game and help pluck him.”

Thubway Tham fled as though from temptation. He ascended the rickety stairs to the third floor and started along the hall. At the door of the room Moore had indicated, Thubway Tham stopped. He heard expressions that told him a crap game was in progress.

Tham gulped again and started on along the hall to his own room. But he did not open the door and enter. He knew that temptation was before him now. It would be the more manly part to face it, Tham thought. At least, he could go back and watch the fun. He did not have to play.

He knocked at the door of number ten and entered. Half a dozen men greeted him joyously, and some winked at him. Bully Blane looked up quickly and spoke.

“Get in the game, Tham,” he said. “The more, the merrier! Maybe my luck’ll change, if you start playin’.”

“I jutht came in to watch.” Tham explained weakly.

The dice were rolling, and for the moment Thubway Tham was forgotten.

He stepped closer to watch. Roll after roll! Men threw bills on the floor. Men shouted and laughed and picked bills up.

Thubway Tham bent nearer still. His face was flushed, and his money burned in his pocket. Bully Blane seemed to be losing continually. Here was a real game, a swift and exciting one with promises of rich rewards.

A man Tham particularly disliked gathered in a bunch of currency. Tham’s breath began coming in little gasps. He knelt in the ring and continued to watch.

His right hand strayed into a pocket and came out clutching a bill of generous denomination. His nostrils were distended. His cigarette had gone out. And suddenly he tossed his bill on the floor.

“Shoot ’em, boy!” said Thubway Tham.

The Goddess of Chance smiled and turned elsewhere!