[ltr]Heyes was worried. He’d gotten up early that morning to case the town for any big spenders who did not watch their wallets too closely. The morning brought nothing. But in the afternoon, he’d found a mark with a fat wallet and a belly full of whiskey staggering from the saloon to the hotel. Heyes knew all he had to do was make this man trust him. [/ltr]
[ltr]“Hey, mister, you look like you could use a helping hand,” Heyes said warmly, taking the weaving gentleman by the arm. “You almost walked into that hitching post.” [/ltr]
[ltr]Looking at young man though blurry eyes, the drunk in the businessman’s suit answered, “Thank you, boy. Havin’ a bit of trouble finding my hotel.” [/ltr]
[ltr]As Heyes reached under the man’s arm to help him, he deftly slipped the wallet out of his pocket. The man staggered mightily and would have fallen were it not for Heyes catching him and steadying him again. [/ltr]
[ltr]“Which hotel is that sir?” asked Heyes adding a touch of concern to his voice as he had learned to do. “You key should say the name.” Heyes helped the man sit on a bench in front of the shoemakers and turned slightly away. Opening the wallet, his eyes drooled at the large amount of money it held. He only slid two twenty dollar bills out swiftly and pocketed them. The move was so practiced and smooth that even someone watching closely may not have seen what he did. Then, as he went to sit down next to the mark, he surreptitiously dropped the wallet. [/ltr]
[ltr]“I found it!” announced the man, pleased with himself that he had found the key in his pocket. He held it out joyously in front of Heyes. “Here’s my key, boy.” [/ltr]
[ltr]As Heyes reached over to take the key, he exaggerated his motion of looking down. Picking up the wallet, he asked, “This yours, sir?” [/ltr]
[ltr]The man’s bloodshot eyes opened wide. “Sure is, it surely is.” he said, grabbing his wallet. [/ltr]
[ltr]He opened and saw money still in there and sighed in relief. “Must’ve dropped it looking for my key,” he said. He handed Heyes his key and attempted to stand up. [/ltr]
[ltr]Heyes took the key and reached under the man’s arm to help his stand. “Your hotel is right across the street.” [/ltr]
[ltr]Now, with forty dollars in his pocket, Heyes went in search of Jed, but he could not find that boy anywhere. Ever since they had run away from the Home four months ago. Jed never strayed too far, and he was never late for a meal. Optimistically believing that Heyes could procure some money, they had agreed that morning to meet in front of the smaller of the two cafés at 4:00 PM. Jed had not shown up. Heyes had waited and then went back to the stall in the livery where they had slept the night before. There was no sign of Jed. [/ltr]
[ltr]Heyes’ heart started beating faster, if Jed did not meet him then he must be in trouble. Trouble had a way of finding the Kid and he could never ignore it. Walking down the alley behind the jail, Heyes stood on his toes to see into the windows of the two cells. Relieved that they were empty, he walked toward the main street while he contemplated what to do next. [/ltr]
[ltr]Then, he heard cheering further down the alley. [/ltr]
[ltr]“Come, seven, come eleven.” Heyes heard the telltale yell of a craps game and saw the circle of men kneeling at the end of the alley. [/ltr]
[ltr]And he saw Jed kneeling right in the middle of them. Knowing Jed knew little about craps and nothing about the odds involved, Heyes hurried and knelt next to him just as Jed was handed the dice. [/ltr]
[ltr]Heyes intercepted the dice. [/ltr]
[ltr]“Jed, what are you doing?” Heyes asked as he rolled the two dice around in his hand. [/ltr]
[ltr]Giving Heyes a wide smile, with a twinkle in his Curry blue eyes, Jed answered, "Winning money, Han. Made seven dollars already and it's my turn to roll the dice now.” [/ltr]
[ltr]Heyes looked away from his cousin and paid attention to what the dice he was rolling in his right hand were trying to tell him. They did not feel right, they were weighted. He shook them in his hand and quickly glanced at his palm, he saw one dot on each dice facing him. He shook his hand again, same result. [/ltr]
[ltr]“Jed, your roll?” Heyes asked. [/ltr]
[ltr]“Yeah, they told me this is when I can make big money. I already turned two dollars into nine. Gonna bet all nine.” [/ltr]
[ltr]“Jed, give me your money.” Heyes held out his hand. [/ltr]
[ltr]Jed gave him the money. "Aww, Han,” he said. [/ltr]
[ltr]Heyes gave him a dollar back. “Bet this on your roll,” he said, as he put the dice into Jed’s hand. [/ltr]
[ltr]Jed smiled and rolled the dice hard on the ground watching them bounce against the wall on the far side. [/ltr]
[ltr]“Craps.” came the yell as the dice showed a two, one dot on each dice. “Snake eyes.” [/ltr]
[ltr]Jed watched sadly as his dollar was taken. Han handed him another dollar. “Gee, thanks!” [/ltr]
[ltr]Again, Heyes intercepted the dice as they were pushed toward Jed. Quickly he felt the weight and shook them in his hand seeing the same result. [/ltr]
[ltr]Jed put down his dollar. Heyes handed him the dice. [/ltr]
[ltr]Before Jed could roll, Heyes put down his forty dollars, “Don’t Pass. Against,” he said. He smiled widely at the dirty look he got from the man running the game. [/ltr]
[ltr]Jed blew on the dice for luck and again watched them bounce off the wall. His heart sank when he saw the two. [/ltr]
[ltr]“Craps, Snake eyes,” called the leader. Jed watched them take his second dollar. [/ltr]
[ltr]Amazed, he saw Heyes pick up his forty bet and his forty in winnings. [/ltr]
[ltr]“Still your roll, boy,” said the man as he pushed the dice toward Jed. But Han had seen the man’s hand move quickly. He had seen the man change the dice and he smiled. Again, Heyes picked up the dice, bounced them in his hand and gave them to Jed. [/ltr]
[ltr]“Here, bet this,” he said handing Jed a five. [/ltr]
[ltr]“But Han, that’s almost all the money I won.” [/ltr]
[ltr]Heyes deep brown eyes twinkled as he winked at Jed. “You’re due for your luck to change this time, go ahead bet it.” Trusting Heyes, Jed put down his bet, blew on the dice and again watched them dance around and hit the far wall. This time the outcome was different. [/ltr]
[ltr]“Seven! Winner! Pay the line.” A cheer went up from those gathered. [/ltr]
[ltr]Jed picked up his ten dollars and smiled at Han. Then, seeing it was getting dark he remembered, “Oh Han, I was supposed to meet you at four. I’m sorry. And I’m hungry. Gambling sure makes me hungry. [/ltr]
[ltr]“Still your roll boy.” [/ltr]
[ltr]Jed looked at his money, the dice and then the group. He smiled his innocent smile. “Sorry, I’m late for supper and I have a real aversion to missing a meal,” he said standing up. [/ltr]
[ltr]“How’d you know which way to bet, Han?” Jed asked over a hearty dinner at the small café. “You sure saved me from losing my money.” [/ltr]
[ltr]Looking at his young cousin consuming every roll at their table in addition to his food at breakneck speed, Heyes smiled. Jed had always been small for his age but that was swiftly changing. He ate everything he could and was still hungry. [/ltr]
[ltr]“Thought I told you to stay away from craps, Jed.” [/ltr]
[ltr]“Aww, Han. I heard them yelling and had to see what was going on there.” There was an apology in Jed’s eyes but also the imprint of the excitement of the game. [/ltr]
[ltr]Heyes sighed and pushed what was left on his plate over to his cousin to finish. [/ltr]
[ltr]“The dice were loaded. I could tell by the weight. Your first two rolls were going to come up snake eyes.” Heyes grieved as more of the innocence died in Jed’s lake blue eyes. “They was cheating, Han?” [/ltr]
[ltr]Heyes nodded. [/ltr]
[ltr]“But the last roll wasn’t snake eyes. It was a six and a one.” Jed’s voice was almost pleading. [/ltr]
[ltr]“He switched one of the dice for a another. It was loaded. It would always be s six and with those two dice you would always roll a seven.” [/ltr]
[ltr]Jed looked down as he shoveled mashed potatoes into him mouth. Heyes shuddered when Jed looked up. His eyes were ice silver for a moment. “I hate cheaters. Especially those that would cheat a kid like me trying to get money to eat.” [/ltr]
[ltr]“Stay away from craps, Jed. I mean it this time. There are more crooked games than not. Crooked games can lead to violence,” Heyes sighed. To offer Jed hope, Heyes added, “Tell you what. We will work on the odds for playing poker again. You’re getting the hang of that.” [/ltr]
[ltr]Jed smiled and the smile became larger when two large pieces of peach pie were set on the table. Heyes rejoiced when the pie returned some of the joyous innocence to his cousin’s eyes. [/ltr]
[ltr]That night laying in the hay in an empty livery stall next to Jed, Han wondered again if they had been right to run away from the Home. Then, he looked over at his cousin and saw the marks left by beatings where his henley had pulled up. He had matching scars. Yes, they had made the right decision, he told himself as he came to the same conclusion he always came to when wrestling with this question. [/ltr]
[ltr]Heyes eyes then fell on the gun that Jed had acquired. He slept with it near his right hand. With determined practice, he was getting extremely accurate with it. Jed carried it in his waistband under his shirt as they could not afford a holster. When watching Jed practice shooting, Heyes had seen his determined eyes become silver ice with concentration. [/ltr]
[ltr]That silver ice gaze was unforgiving and being perfected as a weapon on its own. Heyes knew there was probably a time coming when that gaze and the Kid’s accuracy with a gun would save their lives. [/ltr]
[ltr]Gramma Curry had taught them that Jesus said to forgive seventy times seven, but Heyes was not inclined to forgive those who had hurt Jed and him. There’d been too much hurt already. Heyes trusted only Jed. Jed learned he could only trust Han, the weight of his trust was heavy. [/ltr]
[ltr]The Kid was growing up. Heyes hoped that the next time Jed got into trouble it would be as benign as the crap game today. But for tonight he had over eighty dollars in his pocket and that meant tomorrow they had money for two train tickets west and food for days. His last thought before sleep captured Heyes was that this life was pretty good after all. [/ltr]
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