THE WINDS OF CHANCE

By REX BEACH

Author of "THE SILVER HORDE" "THE SPOILERS" "THE IRON TRAIL" Etc.






CHAPTER I


With an ostentatious flourish Mr. "Lucky" Broad placed a crisp
ten-dollar bill in an eager palm outstretched across his folding-
table.

"The gentleman wins and the gambler loses!" Mr. Broad proclaimed
to the world. "The eye is quicker than the hand, and the dealer's
moans is music to the stranger's ear." With practised touch he
rearranged the three worn walnut-shells which constituted his
stock in trade. Beneath one of them he deftly concealed a pellet
about the size of a five-grain allopathic pill. It was the erratic
behavior of this tiny ball, its mysterious comings and goings,
that had summoned Mr. Broad's audience and now held its observant
interest. This audience, composed of roughly dressed men, listened
attentively to the seductive monologue which accompanied the
dealer's deft manipulations, and was greatly entertained thereby.
"Three tiny tepees in a row and a little black medicine-man