Smoke in the Air (Doc19)
Holliday I heerd about shootin’ a nigra at some dental school back east?”
Archie accepted a chroot and lit it up. Blowing out a blue stream of smoke he said, “Yes, sir. That was me. You have to keep those nigra’s in line, if you know what I mean.” Kate pinched his shoulder and he shook her off.
The next hand Archie won with three fives, then won again with two pairs. One player dropped out and Kate sat in his chair as an observer.
Arnold was getting obnoxious. He was drinking faster and slamming his cards on the table when he lost. Archie was glad that he was carrying Doc Hollidays Derringer in his belt.
It came to a head when Arnold lost his last dollar. He leaped to his feet, throwing the chair into the middle of the saloon. He called Arnie a cheat.
Arnie, shaking like a leaf, slowly withdrew the Derringer from his belt and held it in his lap. The other players moved away from the table, leaving those two to face each other alone.
Arnold shouted, “We don’t need no cheats in our town!” He drew his