Tom turned to watch the commotion, scratching his head as the German ranted in heavily-accented English before collapsing.  “That damn cave is turning the town crazy,” Xia laughed nervously.<br/><br/>He scratched his head, pretending not to notice as the blonde woman slowly removed her hand from her pistol, then scooped up his cards. “Cave?  Y’mean th’ mine?”  He glanced at his hand:  the four of hearts, the jack of hearts, the king of spades, the six of diamonds, and the six of hearts. Garbage, really. A single pair.  “Ah heard tell they was good fer th’ town. Lotsa folk strikin’ it rich.”<br/><br/>-*-<br/><br/>Cassie slowly eased her hand away from her revolver, keeping an eye on the collapsed German man until the bartender went to collect him. Even then she felt tense, struggling to remain calm. Loud men still bothered her. A lot.  “That damn cave in is turning the town crazy,” Xia remarked.<br/><br/>She picked up her cards as the newcomer commented on the mines. He was handsome, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted him around at the moment. It was hard enough finding out if another woman was interested, without a man muddling the waters. And she<i>really</i>hoped the soft-voiced Chinese woman was interested. “Maybe,” she mused aloud, peering at her hand, “they’re all striking it rich?  And then killing each other to be richer?”<br/><br/>The two of hearts, the six of spades, the two of clubs, the queen of hearts, and the nine of hearts.  Fucking hell.<br/><br/>“Reckon that could be,” the newcomer said, anteing a buckle. “Name’s Tom, by th’ way.”<br/><br/>“Cassie,” she replied, anteing a nickle as well.<br/><br/>“It’s a right pleasure ta meet ya, Mss Cassie,” Tom said, before looking at the other end of the bar. “Reckon we outta invite that there fella as well?”<br/><br/>She looked, appraising the smooth-cheeked young man eating a plate of beans. What the hell?  If Xia didn’t fancy a lady, he’d double her chances of getting laid. “Hey!” She called, waving a hand to catch Eli’s eye. “Yeah, you!  Fancy a friendly game?”