Achmed Abdullah

“ But he had made it gambling, and not working; and its very initial stake—the three thousand dollars which the six down-and-outers at the Eslick had contributed—he had received thanks to a compact by which he was gambling away the most precious thing given to man—life itself.
All right, then, he said to himself; he would unselfishly make up to somebody else, since he had lost his last chance to make up to himself. He would pay the little girl her forty dollars per week, and later on he would surprise her by leaving her every cent of his money on his death. ”

“ His love would never do Him any good—nor her any harm, God bless her, he completed the thought. One must live to love, and he—he would be in his grave in a little over ten months' time.
He supposed he might be able to strike some sort of a bargain with those fellows at the Eslick, so that they would let him off his contract. What of that? He would have to pay over his money to them; he would be as broke as he had been before; he would not be able to make life easy for her, which was the main thing. ”

“ Hillyer walked up to him. "But I say, old chap, don't be so bloody pig-headed—"
Macdonald took him by the shoulders and whirled him toward the door.
"Back to your tents, O Israel!" he said laughingly; then very suddenly he lost his temper. "Get out, all of you, before I kick you out! Get out, damn you!" he shouted with a thundering voice.
Walsh and the count were the last to leave the room. Macdonald detained them by a gesture.
"You're broke, too, you two fellows, aren't you?" he asked. ”

“ Graham, Traube, Hayes, and Hillyer advanced with an air which was a peculiar mixture of arrogance and embarrassment, while the cow-puncher and the count lagged behind exchanging whispered remarks.
Graham dropped into a chair.
"That's right," Macdonald commented with a laugh. "Make yourself at home." ”

“ We two are against it—dead against it."
"But you're overruled," Graham interrupted quickly. "We four are in the majority, Mac, and we give you your choice." Traube, Hillyer, and Hayes gave a rumbling chorus of assent, and Graham continued. "Pay up. Divide whatever you've got or—you know!" ”

“ Otherwise, being shrewd and proud, the girl would see through his charitable intentions, and he felt sure that she would never forgive him. And the thought of hurting her feelings struck him as peculiarly disagreeable. ”

“ And so, since he still owned a minority interest of the company's shares, he said to himself that in the final settlement he would get back from Macdonald every dollar he had lost to him at poker, with a handsome bonus added to it. ”