Deadwood Dick's Big Deal; or, The Gold Brick of Oregon — page 70: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

‘92 DEADWOOD DICK. ''\ His antagonist played in his usually cool, off-hand man- mer, not seeming to care particularly which way the game ended. 5 | But, as usual, luck was with him, and he won. ‘| As he raked in the stakes, something like a groan es- caped Raymond. His face was very pale, and his eyes had a wild, haggard appearance. “I am ruined!” he gasped. “I am reduced from a rich man to a beggar. But I won’t always be thus. There are qways to get money—yes, there are ways!” _\ He rose to go, but the doctor caught him by the arm. | “Stay!” he said. “Don’t be in too great a hurry. There * fs still a chance for you to win back a part of what you have lost.” “What do you mean?” _ “Sit down and I will explain.” | Raymond obeyed somewhat eagerly, for a chance meant much to him even though it might be small, “Go ahead,” he said. “Do not trifle with me or you'll find out it won’t pay.” “There is no necessity for trifling. You heard me men- tion encountering the fellow, Deadwood Dick. Before I deft him, he made me promise to search for a lost child of this, which he believed to be in your possession. He wanted me to recover it and care for it as my own.” _ “Well?” ' “You have this child?” ‘ “T am non-committal.” “Bah! it’s useless to deny it. The child is of no good to you, more than to speculate on. I'll give you a chance to do so. I'll put up the twenty thousand I just won of you - against the child. If you lose you are to deliver the child - into my custody.” . : ‘ Raymond was silent a moment, evidently deliberating ion what to do. , If he won he would have a stepping-stone toward get- a ting back his old fortune. = If he lost——? E ' Some dark and evil thoughts entered his head in con- z mection with this latter “if.” \_ “Your stake is too small,” he said, finality. “I could not kink of parting with my prize for any such money, Make it a hundred?” y oe - —— ad 7 J r 2, conmicloooks.CcoOnn j