Summary

Mr. John Oakhurst notices on November 23, 1850, that there is a change in the moral atmosphere of Poker Flat, a California gold-mining settlement. His premonition is correct, as a secret committee has determined, in its local prejudice, to rid the community of certain undesirable people. Two men are executed, and four alleged reprobates are banished, including Oakhurst. The other exiles are two prostitutes, known as the Duchess and Mother Shipton, and a thief called Uncle Billy.

After an armed escort abandons them on the outskirts of the settlement, with a warning never to return, they decide to head for Sandy Bar, a camp that has not yet experienced the regenerating influences of Poker Flat. It is a long day’s journey through the mountains, and by noon the Duchess declares that she will go no farther without a rest. Although Oakhurst advises against stopping, the others, under the influence of liquor, refuse to move. The gambler does not drink, because he believes that it would interfere with his profession. For the first time since he became a gambler, he is lonely and depressed. He studies his pathetic companions, now sleeping, but he does not abandon them.

Oakhurst’s reverie is broken by the sound of his name. Tom Simson, a youth known as The Innocent of Sandy Bar, ascends the trail, followed by Piney Woods. They are on their way to Poker Flat to get married and to seek their fortune. Simson knows the gambler because he was once in a poker game with him. Oakhurst won the youth’s entire fortune, but he returned it with the advice that Simson should never gamble again. The kind act won for the gambler a devoted friend.

The Innocent reports that he has an extra mule with provisions, and that he has located a roofless cabin. Despite Oakhurst’s protest, the others decide to accept Simson’s offer, and they make camp in the cabin. It snows during the night, and in the morning Oakhurst discovers that Uncle Billy has absconded with the mules and most of the supplies. The snow forces the group to take refuge in the camp. A roof is made of pine boughs, and the wait for the end of the storm begins. Simson provides an accordion and a...