A well-built man leaned back against a wooden table.

The sounds of footsteps echoed through the room as the bar emptied of its last customers.

Nighthead fallen, and a hushed silence settled over the river boat as most folks went to bed.

The man in the bar area puffed a cigar and enjoyed the quiet until the silence was shattered by an angry shout.

A woman was yelling somewhere nearby on the boat. A door slammed. The angry voice grew louder as the

man heard hurried footsteps approaching the bar. The man threw a questioning glance at the old bar

keep. The bar keep just shook his head and shrugged. The man asked the bar keep to hand him the gun

that was in a drawer behind the bar. The bartender passed it over and the man waited for the explosive

entrance. A young couple burst through the door. The woman was incensed. She waved a pistol in the air

and swore loudly that she would either get the money back or kill the gambler. It seemed pretty

clear that the husband had lost a sizable sum in a recent game. Her husband tried to stop her,

but she pushed past him. The man who had been peacefully lounging and enjoying his cigar a few

moments earlier approached the woman. He introduced himself as a government detective and he said he knew

the gambler she was talking about. He assured her that she would be perfectly justified in shooting

the gambler. He just had one suggestion. He didn't think the gun she was holding would fire.

He told her that he had an excellent pistol. After all, he was equipped by the government.

The man offered her the gun that he had just borrowed from the bartender. The woman took the pistol

and handed over her own weapon. A moment later, the door to the bar creaked open.

In walked the gambler who was about to receive a dangerous welcome. The woman rushed up to him.

She said her husband had lost $600 to him in a single sitting. The woman demanded that the gambler

hand over the money. She raised the gun and aimed it at the gambler's chest. The gambler appeared

shocked and said the husband had lost the money in a fair game. The gambler wasn't going to give

...