passed again and the rest o’ them passed, and it was my first lead.
Well, I didn’t have only one spade—the eight-spot—and I knew it wouldn’t do my hand no good as long as I couldn’t trump in with it; so I led it out. Messenger was dummy, and he laid his hand down. He had about eight spades, with the ace and queen high.
“I might as well take a chance,” says Mrs. Garrett, and she throwed on Messenger’s ten-spot.
Out come my pardner with the king, and it was our trick.
“What kind of a lead was that?” says Mrs. Garrett to me.
“Pretty good one, I guess,” says I. “It fooled you, anyway.”
And she acted like she was sore as a boil. Come to find out, she’d thought I was leadin’ from the king and was goin’ to catch it later on.
Well, her and Messenger took all the rest o’ the tricks except my king o’ hearts, and they had a game on us, besides forty for their four aces.
“I could of made a little slam as well as not,” she says when it was over. “But I misunderstood our friend’s lead. It’s the first time I ever seen a man lead from a sneak in no trump.”
“I’ll do a whole lot o’ things you never seen before,” I says.
“I don’t doubt it,” says she, still actin’ like I’d spilled salad dressin’ on her skirt.
It was my first bid next time and hearts was my only suit again. I had the ace, queen and three others.
“Pardner,” I says, “I’m goin’ to bid one heart and if you got somethin’ to help me out with, don’t let ’em take it away from me.”