He can hear the click of the chips, an'
it's too many for him. Don't go away; jest close up an' sorter camp
'round quiet.'
"Which we-alls does as Jack says; closes the games, an' then sets
'round in our chairs an' keeps quiet, a-waitin' for the infant to
turn in. A half-hour later Jack appears ag'in.
"'It ain't no use, gents,' he says, goin' back of the bar an'
gettin' a big drink; 'that child is onto us. He won't have it. You
can gamble, he's fixed it up with himse'f that he ain't goin' to
sleep none to-night. I allows it's 'cause he's among rank strangers,
an' he figgers it's a good safe play to lookout his game for
himse'f.'
"'I wonder couldn't we sing him to sleep,' says Cherokee Hall.
"'Nothin' ag'in a try,' says Jack, some desp'rate, wipin' his lips
after the drink.
"'S'pose we-alls gives him "The Dyin' Ranger" an' "Sandy Land" for
an hour or so, an' see,' says Boggs.
"In we trails. Cherokee lines up on one side of the infant, an' Jack
on t'other; an' the rest of us takes chairs an' camps 'round, We
starts in an' shore sings him all we knows; an' we keeps it up for
hours. All the time, that child is a-settin' thar, a-battin' his
eyes an' a-starin', sleepless as owls.
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