The Conversion of Trapper Lewis 265 



mistake. Had I won the old man might have been 

 mad, but I should not have earned his contempt. 

 Therefore, I was not at all sorry when some sharp 

 talk arose between my friend and a man who had 

 wanted to back my opponent. 



Old Lewis was keen for another match, but I 

 called him aside and asked him as a favor to sit 

 still and watch the game if we played another. 



He at once became suspicious, but agreed to do 

 as I asked. Meanwhile, the disputants had ar- 

 ranged another match, for a dollar a side, young 

 Lewis to play and stand to win, or lose, nothing. 

 This arrangement gave him confidence, and he 

 rashly broke the balls. I found an easy set-up 

 and pocketed fifteen straight. After a moment's 

 silence the crowd voiced a hearty " Good boy, 

 Canady ! " and before the man who had lost the 

 dollar had time to get real mad, I had made the 

 bettors draw their money. 



Things turned out better than I had expected. 

 The crowd agreed that " Canady was a square 

 feller," and old Lewis held out a paw and said : 

 " Put her thar, Canady ; yer a cuss to play pool ; 

 but what'n thunder did yer throw off in the first 

 game fur ? " 



" Just for a bit of fun," I replied, for the last thing 

 I wanted him to know was the true reason. From 

 that day on Lewis and I became almost friendly, 

 but, while he would speak of his old-time experi- 

 ences in the West, I was unable to edge him in 

 the direction of his more recent doings. In fact, 

 I believe he thought I was a well-meaning young- 

 ster and a confounded nuisance to boot. Anyway, 



