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sir—and I believe it’s quite legal to shoot a man foolish enough to wear one at the gaming table.”
    By this time Captain Cully had swallowed his Adam’s apple two or three times. You could see the color draining out of his face. His freckled hands were out of sight, under the table, and I believe he was having trouble getting the mirror ring off his own finger.
    â€œNow then,” Pa said pleasantly. He tossed me the St. Louis shiner he had bought for the occasion. “Now then, Captain, there are cartwheels and gold pieces waiting on the table to change ownership. I’m looking forward to an enjoyable voyage. Cut the cards.”
    I never saw such a sudden change come over a man. Captain Cully scooped his money into his hat and jumped up. “Some other time,” he scowled. “Feel that blasted river current! We’ll be lucky if we don’t tear the mooring trees out by the roots. I’ve boat work to attend to.”
    He loped away in a burnt hurry. After a moment Pa threw back his head and laughed. “I think we cured him of card-sharping on this trip, Wiley. River current! He went for a hacksaw to get that cheap gambler’s ring off.”
    â€œReckon he did,” I smiled. I looked longingly at the St. Louis shiner in my hand. I polished the mirror on my sleeve and handed it back.
    Pa lit a fresh match to his cigar. “I’ve no further use for it, Wiley. If you want it, it’s yours.”

5
    SMILE, YOU’RE IN SUNRISE
    Pa was right. The shiner ring disappeared from Captain Cully’s finger, and he always seemed to have boat work to do when Pa proposed a game of cards.
    I couldn’t wait to show my St. Louis shiner to Glorietta.
    â€œJust like Quickshot Billy’s,” I said.
    â€œWhat’s it for? To look at yourself? I’ll bet Quickshot Billy was always looking at himself.”
    â€œOh, you’re considerable smart,” I said. I breathed on the mirror and polished it. “How do you suppose he could shoot back over his shoulder? That’s what a shiner’s for.”
    I didn’t tell her it was a gambler’s ring. I was certain a famous lawman like Quickshot Billy would never cheat at cards.
    Of course, the ring was miles too big for me, but I got some of Ma’s embroidery thread and wrapped it around and around the band for a good snug fit. All the way up the Missouri I practiced seeing behind me. I saw lots of ducks and geese and even some white pelicans that way.
    We were almost a week reaching Kansas City. Captain Cully didn’t stop there even to take on cordwood. He steamed on by the woodyards and kept going as if the law were waiting for him. And I reckon it should have been. He never once bought wood for the furnace. He just helped himself to anything unguarded along the banks that would burn. There were deserted homesteaders’ cabins and half-sunk old riverboats that had run afoul of snags and whatnot. He’d send out his wrecking crew and before long everything but the windows went up through the Prairie Buzzard’s black smokestack.
    He went zigzagging up the Missouri, dodging floating logs and things I couldn’t see at all—shoals, I guess. He’d laugh when we passed another boat hung up on a fresh sandbar, as if it would be a wood feast for his wreckers on the return trip. He steered his own boat cleverly, following the shifting channel like a dog following a scent. I’ll have to give him his due. He seemed able to outthink that river.
    Every night the boiler had to be cleaned out, for it kept filling with Missouri mud. We charged past Nebraska City and Council Bluffs and kept going. After that the river towns seemed to get smaller and farther apart, as if we were running out of civilization.
    In the evenings, before darkness fell, Pa usually read Shakespeare to us, or Homer. It wasn’t always clear to me what was going on in those stories. But Pa had a real