"Very pleased to meet you, Miss Cora. But please, call me Gabby. All my friends do." Gabby says as he takes a seat.

"Pleased to meet you as well, Gabby," Cora acknowledged, though privately thought the man used the term 'friends' entirely too loosely.  Then again, she was accustomed to sitting down with complete strangers at a table, so she didn't stand much on ceremony.  "What sort of wager do you have in mind, Darrel?"  The cards slipped expertly through her fingers as she shuffled, cutting the cards several times as she glanced to the newcomer.

"I will say this, Daniel, Dodge is rarely boring," Morgan said. "If you do hear of anything interesting, I'd be obliged if you passed it along. Truth is, what a lawman knows is usually a hell of a lot more important than the gun he's got strapped to his hip."

Morgan tapped the newspaper in his lap. "Sometimes folks make people in my line seem more important than they really are. I was just reading about a group of passengers on the Denver-Pacific from Dodge to Denver overcame a group of bandits that blew the train tracks, meaning to rob and kill all those aboard. Those passengers took care of those outlaws to a man." He shook his head. "It takes every honest man and woman in this territory to keep order. I'm just one small part of it."

Daniel nodded sagely at what Caleb was saying about Dodge, but since he'd never been there he'd have to take his word for it. "I'm not intersted in borin', anyhow, Marshal. You c'n be assured that anythin' I find out'll find its way ta yer ears."

He looked around, "Much as I do enjoy a bit o' interestin stuff when muh feet're on th' ground, I don' wanna be part o' no rail robbery. If it comes to it, you know I'll stand tall, though."

Daniel stifled a yawn then blinked away a couple tears. "Much as I'd like ta keep chattin, Caleb, I gotta get me some shuteye. Not ta be rude, but when Gabby stops talkin', he starts snorin', if ya know what I mean. Since he's occupied, well, I can get some sleep."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:57, Mon 20 Aug 2012.

Darrel seemed to briefly study each of the people in company with him that seemed somewhat interested in the game. "Oh...just a dollar a hand. Enough to keep things interesting and no more. Can't really play proper poker without a least a little wager."

He smiled as he received his cards, and muttered something to himself. "Oh, the spirits are restless tonight." He did well on the first few hands, and though his performance didn't keep up over the course of the evening, he proved himself to be a fairly skilled player of the game - though it seemed that Coraline frequently managed to better him.

"Wow, Cora. Have you always been good at cards, or is this beginner's luck for you? And you sound like you're from back East - are you? And what brings you out to Kansas?" she eyed the others eagerly, as if eager to ask them similar questions, but brought her curious gaze back to the only other woman in the car.
This message was last updated by the player at 02:49, Thu 16 Aug 2012.

"Mrs. Linkous, do you think Mr. Linkous would like to join us?"

Coraline smiled at Jenny as she tucked her winnings into her purse.  "No one is born good at cards, Jenny.  So much of it is luck of the draw.  Don't you think so, Darrel?  Sheer luck?"  She gave the card player a glance, hearing his mutterings.

Gabby is a moderately fair player. He's clearly a little skilled, but only at campfire rules. Whenever it's his turn to deal he calls out all kinds of wild cards, such as "deuces 'n Jacks, the man with the axe, pair o' natural Sevens takes all". When he's playing straight rules, he's a fair player, but not great.

"oh, I dunno 'bout pure luck." Gabby says. "I found ya gotta know a bit 'bout what're doin'. Still, it's easy to learn."

He seemed distracted for a moment, but responded anyhow. "What? Oh, yes, I think I'm inclined to agree with Gabby here. There's luck to it, but there's skill also. If you get lucky and you don't have the skill, you might not be able to play your cards the same way. On the other hand, you could be the most skilled card player in the Americas and if you draw with poor luck you might not really make out so well."

"Why, Mr. Darling - and I love that name - my husband would most likely love to join us but he's out around Denver. I'm going to travel out there to join him. You're from back east too, aren't you? I am too. I'm from Baltimore. You're from Boston, right? Or New York? I've never been very good at telling exactly where people are from, but I can tell. Is Dodge the end of the line for you Randy? And you Cora?" She didn't want Cora to think she had forgotten about her, but Jenny was more than capable of carrying on multiple conversations at once.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:55, Thu 16 Aug 2012.

"I've spent time in several cities back East, Mrs. Linkous, though Baltimore isn't one of them. I hear it is a charming place and apparently produces very charming inhabitants," he smiles at the young woman.

"I may stay for a time in Dodge City, my final destination is unsettled. I'm a writer and I will go wherever the story takes me. I hear there are wondrous things beiong made by Smith & Robards in Deseret. The Maze in California is also of potential interest. But I'll probably remain in Dodge for a time to see whether I can find a story there to replenish my finances.

"My finances will probably do better in the long run if I abjure the poker table," he adds with a grin and a tip of his hat to Cora.

Coraline smirked at Randolph, already shuffling her cards again.  "Probably wise, Mister Darling." Resisting the impulse to slap the chatty out of Jenny, she quirked an eyebrow at the girl.  "I hear there are some interesting games to be had in Dodge City.  No telling where I might end up after that.  Like Mister Darling, here, I have an interest in a great many things and tend to wander where the impulse takes me."

Gabby fishes out the money he'd lost up to this point with a rueful look. he slides it over to the pretty lady and shrugs. "Well, wherever the wind takes ya, I reckon you'll do well as long as they done got cards to play. You are one heck of a bluffer, if you'll pardon my French." he works the kinks out of his neck, the looks over at his dozing nephew. He smiles paternally, then turns back to the table. "Well, I reckon if we done played out o' poker, I'm willin' to try my hand at this whist game o' yours." He looks over at Randolph. "So what sort o' stories are these you're interested in? I might know a few tales to tell...been to the Maze an' back, seen plenty o' things."

As d'Alex dozed, Morgan glanced over his paper once more, listening to the banter at the nearby card game with half an ear. When he ran out of articles, or at least those that caught his interest, he gazed out the window, content to watch the grassland roll past.

Daniel snoozed through the card game, catching up on lost sleep as well as he was able. His eyes fluttered open a few times, but when he noticed the poker game was breaking up, he stifled a yawn and went over to where his uncle sat. "Heya, Uncle Gabby. Ya makin' some new friends here?" Daniel offered a smile for those sitting around the former card game, but waited for his uncle to make introductions.

"Yup! You know me! Makin' friends everywhere!" Gabby says. "Folks, this here is my nephew, Danial D'alex. Finest barber west o' the Mississippi! Danny, this here is Miss Cora, Randy, Darrel, and Mrs. Jenny." He scootches over to make room.

"Randolph Darling, Mr. d'Alex," he says, extending a hand, "This is Miss Coraline Hawthorne."

Dan vigorously shook Randy's hand, "Nice ta meetcha both, Mister Darling and Miss Hawthorne. Gabby exaggerates a bit, though. My paw is the best barber west o' the big river. So what brings ya ta Dodge? Stoppin' there or passin' through?"

"A pleasure," Cora said in greeting to Daniel.  She smiled secretively as she shuffled the cards in her hands.

Curiosity finally getting the better of him, Morgan rose from his seat and sauntered over to the growing card game. "Pardon me, folks," he said, tipping his hat, "My name's Caleb Morgan. I wonder if you wouldn't mind if I sat and watched the game a spell? I'm afraid I'm not much of a card player. I doubt it would be much of a chore for any of you to empty my wallet in short order. But I'd sure like some conversation to pass the time."

Sensing a bit of annoyance from Coraline, Jenny excused herself from the group for a minute, with the very believable statement that she'd return and chat with them again. She peered around the passenger car to look for someone else to talk to and spied another passenger who sat alone reading a paper. "The Tombstone Epitaph! I've always found that paper so entertaining. They say some of the most ridiculous things. I think it's wonderful that someone decided to start a newspaper as a joke. I mean, it must be, right? They can't actually believe that. My husband says that they do, though. What do you think?"

The man lowered the newspaper slightly to look at the talkative woman who had inserted herself into his quiet time. "I'd agree with your husband," he replied, and raised the paper back up, hoping that she'd leave, not counting on her persistence.

"I'm from Baltimore, and I'm headed to Denver to meet up with my husband. What about you?" she asked, with no doubt as to her genuine curiosity.

"From Kansas, heading west on business. Now, I would appreciate it if you would leave me alone. I need some rest," he said, and without further ado went into a pose that was obviously a pretend sleep.