Not for a long time had there been a game in Arkansas City in which the auspices had appeared more favorable for the discomfiture of a visiting stranger, and the augmentation of the floating capital of the community. Placid assurance was manifest in the demeanor of the four gentlemen who joined in the effort to provide amusement for him, and each one of the four seemed to find satisfaction in the confident expectation of cutting the comb of one who had shown himself so essentially cocky as the big Texan had certainly done.
It was true that he had not followed his defiant words with the violence of behavior that had seemed imminent, but even Rasset did not make the mistake of attributing that to timidity. It was rather as if he was so well acquainted to trouble as to be entirely indifferent whether it came or not. Not seeking it, he did not, on the other hand, seek to avoid it.
A similar unconcern as to consequences was a manifest characteristic of his play in the poker game. Much of the time he seemed entirely content to watch the play of the others, merely glancing at the cards he received in the deal and dropping them carelessly on the table, regardless of whether he had anted or not, but showing deep interest in any contest that might ensue among those who stayed. 