Soapy Smith 
men like to see a fine lot of nuggets my mate 
has just brought out from Dawson?” My 
friend then turned to me and said, ‘“‘ Would you 
like to see them ? ” and I replied, ““ No! I have 
seen lots. I do not suppose they vary from 
other gold nuggets.”” We walked to the end of 
the street, and were turning round preparatory 
to going aboard our steamer again, when Smith 
said, “ There’s my ‘ pard’”’—hailing a man at 
the same time. We were then opposite a neat 
wooden house, the door of which stood open, 
pererad° bemg im the doorway. “I have 
brought these gentlemen to show them your 
nuggets,” said Smith. ‘‘ Come right along in,” 
said the other. It seemed almost rude to refuse, 
so my tall friend bent his long back and entered 
the house, and I followed. A small boy of fifteen 
was sitting in the room, and “ Pard ”’ said, ‘‘ Go 
over to the bank and bring along some of them 
nuggets I want to show these gentlemen.” A 
few minutes later an elderly man put in an 
appearance, looking very distressed and worried, 
saying, “ That blackguard Soapy Smith has done 
me down to the tune of eight hundred dollars— 
all I had left.” He bemoaned his fate until 
Soapy said, ‘‘ Serves you right, you must have 
been an old ‘sucker’; say, how did he do it?” 
The old man then said, ‘“‘ With them cards—I 
took them away with me.” Very clumsily he 
now proceeded to demonstrate the three-card 
199 
