One Bad Bet in 1880 Texas

Saturday night. Old lamps low in the station house bar. Cards on the

table, smoke hanging heavy and hard. He wore a black coat,

boot heel tapping slow on the floor. Across from him, a quiet stranger

dressed in white at the door. In 1880 Texas held his breath when the card

game slipped from luck to death. A man in black, a man in

white, chips turned to guns in a heartbeat fight. In 1880,

silence cracked like glass. One bad bet, and you don't outrun the past.

Pots stacked high, dealer's hands shook like a leaf. Black coat grin,