The Boy from the Ranch Part 9

"Right you are," came from Mr. Baker, as he lifted the sh.e.l.l, and disclosed the ball.

"Well, it's easier to pick the right one out of two, than out of three," remonstrated Hynard.

"All right. I'll give him first pick this time," and once more Mr.

Baker manipulated the sh.e.l.ls and ball.

"Now where is it?" he asked Roy quickly. The boy, who was quite taken with the new trick, was eagerly leaning forward, watching with eyes that little escaped, the movements of Mr. Baker's fingers.

"It's there," he said quietly, indicating the sh.e.l.l farthest away from him.

"What did I tell you?" asked Mr. Baker, lifting the sh.e.l.l and showing that Roy was right.

"He's got you beat, Hynard," said Sutton.

"Well, I'll bet he can't do it again."

Roy did, much to his own amus.e.m.e.nt.

"I'll tell you what I'll do," said Hynard suddenly. "I'll bet you five dollars I can do it this time, Baker."

"Very well, I'll go you."

The money was put up, the sh.e.l.ls shifted, and Hynard made his choice.

He got the right sh.e.l.l.

"There's where I lose five dollars," said Mr. Baker, with regret, pa.s.sing the bill to Hynard.

"You try him," whispered Tupper to Roy. "You can guess right every time. Bet him ten dollars. You can't make money easier."

All at once the real meaning of what had just taken place was revealed to Roy. The men wanted him to gamble, under the guise of a trick. And he was sharp enough to know that once he bet any money, the sh.e.l.l he would pick out would have no ball under it. In fact, had he taken the bait and bet, Mr. Baker, by a sleight-of-hand trick, would not have put the ball under any sh.e.l.l so that, no matter which one Roy selected, he would have been wrong, and would have lost, though they might have let him win once or twice, just to urge him on. Understanding what the trick was, he exclaimed:

"I don't think I care to bet any money. I have proved that I have quick eyesight, and I think that's all you wanted to know," and, turning away he went back to his chair, at the farther end of the car.

CHAPTER VIII

A STOP FOR REPAIRS

For a few seconds the four men were too surprised to say anything.

They stood looking at each other and, when they had gone to the smoking room, with an angry glance at Mr. Baker, Sutton remarked:

"I thought you said the kid would bite at this game?"

"I thought he would."

"Well, you've got another 'think' coming."

"Yes, you've bungled this thing all the way through," added Hynard.

"I didn't blunder any more than you did. I'd like to know who first made his acquaintance, and found out he had money."

"Well, you did that part of it, but he's got his money yet, and we haven't," said Tupper.

"And we're not likely to get it," went on Hynard. "I think he'll be suspicious of us after this."

"Maybe not," remarked Sutton, hopefully. "We may be able to get him into some other kind of a game. If we can't--"

He did not finish, but the other men knew what he meant. Roy had incurred the enmity of some dangerous characters, and it behooved him to be on the lookout.

The boy had not been in his seat many minutes before an elderly gentleman, the one who had been describing the various scenes of interest, came up to him.

"Did I see you playing some game with those men just now?" he asked.

"They were showing me a game," answered Roy. "They said they wanted to test my quick eyesight."

"What was it?"

"It was a game with three sh.e.l.ls and a small ball."

"I thought so. My boy, do you know what that game is called?"

"No, sir, but I didn't care to play it the way they wanted me to. They wanted me to bet money."

"And you refused?"

"I sure did."

"That is where you were right. That is an old swindling trick, called the 'sh.e.l.l game'. If you had bet any money you would have lost."

"I thought as much," said Roy. "I'm not so green as I look, even if I spent all my life on a ranch."

"Indeed you are not, I am glad to see. I would advise you not to have anything more to do with those men."

"Do you know them?"

"No, but they have the ways and airs of professional gamblers."

"They tried to rope me up, I guess," said Roy. "But they didn't have rope enough to tie me. Now I know their brand I'll sure be careful not to mix in with 'em."

"I don't exactly understand your terms. I--"

"I beg your pardon," said Roy. "I suppose I talk, more or less, as I do on the ranch. I meant they tried to get me into one of their corrals and take my hide off. Hold me up, you know."

"I'm afraid I don't exactly know," went on the gentleman with a smile, "but I gather that you mean they would have robbed you, after getting you into their power."

"That's it," said Roy. "I'm on another trail now, and they want to be careful," and he looked as though he could take care of himself, a fact that the gentleman noticed.