with lazy steps, lounged toward the shop.




CHAPTER VIII.

CAPTURE AND RESCUE.


The White Elephant was a large gambling hall in Kansas City, situated on
one of the principal thoroughfares. It was centrally located, and night
after night the brilliant lights and crowded tables bore witness to its
rushing business.

On this evening the tiger was out with all its claws. Rouge et noir,
roulette, faro, keno, and stud-poker were going in full blast. The
proprietor, his elegant diamonds flashing in the light, was seated on a
raised platform from whence he could survey the entire company--his
face, impassive as marble and unreadable as the sphinx, was turned
toward the faro lay-out, which this evening appeared to be the center of
attraction.

Among the players sat one whose tall form and athletic frame would have
been noticeable under any circumstances, but was now more so, as it
towered above his fellow-gamesters who crowded around the table.

Before him lay a high pile of chips. He played with the nonchalant air
of one who was there merely to pass away a vacant hour, but his stakes
were high and he played every shot. His calm, impassioned countenance