"Stuart, Dee - Easy Mark" - читать интересную книгу автора (Stuart Dee)

been broke. Ain't nobody a better judge of mules than me."
Just then some dude with a Texas drawl pulls up, says he's in real estate.
Puts me in mind of my hound dog Old Red. Big jowls, eyelids drooping under a
wrinkled forehead. We shake hands all around and after the jawing runs out,
Smiley says, "Whaddya say we have a friendly game of poker?"
Well, hell, I played a hand or two in my time and I says, "Okay by me."
"What's your game?" Tex says.
"Five card draw, one-eyed jacks and jokers wild."
Smiley's jaw kinda sags and Stogie squints his eyes and says, "I play
five-card draw, nothing wild, buck a chip, cash on the barrelhead."
"That's my game too," says the Texas dude, his eyes glistening like Old Red's
when he's picked up a coon scent.
"I'll go along," I say, figuring I'm outnumbered.
Smiley snaps open his briefcase and hauls out a box of poker chips. I look at
him sharp. He better not try no used cards on me. Then he flags down a man in
a white jacket he called "Steward" and asks for a deck of cards.
Steward says, "Sorry, sir, I thought I'd already brought you a deck out of
Dodge City."
Smiley grins and forks over a coupla dollars. "It must have been two other
guys."
Steward brings Smiley a pack of cards and I watch careful while he breaks it
open. We cut for deal and soon we're all sitting there playing five card draw.
Sometime past La Junta, Colorado, they order drinks all around, but I get me a
coke. I learned way back that drinking makes my head feel funny.
For awhile, things is kinda slow. We all stay about even till we're chugging
through the Raton Pass.
"Well, looky there now," I say, admiring the view. "Have you ever seen
anything to beat them snow-top mountains?"
"Yeah," says Smiley. "An oil well coming in."
"Are we gonna jaw or play cards?" says Tex.
I figure I better keep my mind on the game and soon I begin to win some dang
big pots. The guys is durn good sports about it. Smiley keeps smiling and
Stogie keeps puffing away and I can't hardly see Tex through the layers of
blue smoke. Ain't never seen nobody so happy to be losing. And that's what
puts me onto them. It just ain't natural.
I begin to watch real hard when Smiley has the deal. Slick as a mole, his hand
slips under the table. I begin to wonder what become of the deck that Steward
give somebody out of Dodge. I begin to notice Stogie wiping his nose with a
knuckle every once in awhile like there was a fly on it or something. Well,
there weren't no flies in the car and there weren't no flies on me neither, so
it ain't no surprise when I begin to lose.
I ain't used to losing and I ain't too good at it, 'specially when I know
there's some gol-durned cheating going on. Really gets my dandruff up. It was
guys like this that Will Grigsby told me to watch out for.
I don't say nothing, just keep a poker face. I already learned patience with
my mules a long time ago, so I just bide my time. We play straight through
lunch and order sandwiches brought to the table.
Now Smiley begins laughing right loud. Stogie, nipping the tip off a fresh,
two-buck cigar says, "I reckon I'll be buying a gross of these." And Tex is
looking at me, his eyes bright and glistening like Old Red when he's treed a