Page 14 of A Groom for Millie
Robert turned back to James. “Want to try again? I’ll go slower this time.” He performed the trick once more, letting the boy win. In the second round, the king was revealed again. “I’m going to give you a piece of advice.” Robert pulled the cards out of his pocket and handed the deck to the boy. “Don’t ever put money on this game. You’ll lose every time.”
“How’s that?” the boy asked, showing his mother the cards.
“Let me show you.” He handed the book back to Mrs. Martin and removed the pin from his pants and handed it back to Mrs. Baker. “I wasn’t planning on keeping these.”
Mrs. Baker huffed and put the pin back in her hat. “You shouldn’t have had me remove it. These things are difficult to put back in place.”
“How did you do the trick, Mr. Taylor?”
Robert explained that the key was in how he picked up the cards. He laid the cards out again with the ace in the middle. He picked up the outer cards in his hands and then with his right hand, picked up the ace, so it was on the bottom. He showed the card to everyone in the coach.
“When you want someone to win, you drop the ace first, like this. He demonstrated dropping the card and then moving the other two cards around it. “When you want them to lose, you do this.” He picked the cards back up, showing the ace on the bottom of the two cards in his right hand. “it goes much quicker, but this is the idea.” He used his index finger to move the card on the top first, causing a distraction. “The ace is still in my hand.”
“You cheated.”
“Of course, I cheated, ma’am. But it really isn’t cheating. It’s a distraction.”
“I don’t care what you call it. It is still the same.”
“Are you a cardsharp?” a deep voice asked.
Robert looked up to notice James’ father had lowered the paper and was looking at him intently. Robert was saved from answering when a commotion could be heard outside the stagecoach. The horses were picking up speed, jostling the passengers inside.
Chapter Five
“Yah! Yah!” Cletus could be heard urging the horses forward.
Robert leaned out the window and saw several horses approaching at a rapid pace. The lead rider raised a pistol and shot into the air. He leaned back in the window.
“What is it?” the older lady asked.
“Outlaws. I think we are going to be robbed.”
“Oh, my land!” Mrs. Baker shrieked. “I told my daughter not to move out to this God-forsaken land. She wouldn’t listen, would she? I hope they don’t kill us.”
“They usually don’t. They simply want whatever valuables we have and then they’ll be on their way.”
The riders moved closer to the coach and a shot rang out. Robert heard Par scream as the horse moved faster. Looking out the window, he saw the lifeless body of Cletus as they rode past.
“Slow down, boy,” one of the men yelled over the sound of the horses. “And don’t go reaching for that gun.” It didn’t take long for the riders to surround the coach and bring it to a halt.
“Don’t go reaching for your gun, now,” another voice called to Par. “Unload it and toss it down.”
Robert could see the outlaw’s horse dancing beneath the curtain covering the window.
“Go untie the horses from the back,” another called.Bart Carson. Robert recognized the voice.
“Don’t fight anyone,” Robert warned lowly. “These are bad men.”.
The stagecoach door flew open and a shadow blocked the light. “Get out,” the figure said, waving his gun.
The two women scrambled down from the coach, and James followed. James’ father looked at Robert and opened his jacket revealing a revolver under his arm. Robert shook his head.
That was a good way to get someone killed.
Robert followed as Mr. Martin stepped from the coach.
A man reached up and grabbed Par from the seat and pushed him against the side of the coach.Vincent. The eldest Myron brother was holding tightly onto Par’s arm. Robert could see the young man flinch under the tight grip.
