{"product_id":"2940013654785","title":"Twice Bought","description":"CHAPTER ONE.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"`Honesty is the best policy,' Tom, you may depend on it,\" said a youth\u003cbr\u003eto his companion, one afternoon, as they walked along the margin of one\u003cbr\u003eof those brawling rivulets which, born amid the snows of the Rocky\u003cbr\u003eMountain peaks, run a wild and plunging course of many miles before\u003cbr\u003efinding comparative rest in the celebrated goldfields of Oregon.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I don't agree with you, Fred,\" said Tom, sternly; \"and I don't believe\u003cbr\u003ein the proverb you have quoted.  The world's maxims are not all gospel.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"You are right, Tom; many of them are false; nevertheless, some are\u003cbr\u003efounded on gospel truth.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"It matters not,\" returned Tom, angrily.  \"I have made up my mind to get\u003cbr\u003eback from that big thief Gashford what he has stolen from me, for it is\u003cbr\u003ecertain that he cheated at play, though I could not prove it at the\u003cbr\u003etime.  It is impossible to get it back by fair means, and I hold it\u003cbr\u003equite allowable to steal from a thief, especially when that which you\u003cbr\u003etake is your own.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFred Westly shook his head, but did not reply.  Many a time had he\u003cbr\u003ereasoned with his friend, Tom Brixton, about the sin of gambling, and\u003cbr\u003eurged him to be content with the result of each day's digging for gold,\u003cbr\u003ebut his words had no effect.  Young Brixton had resolved to make a\u003cbr\u003efortune rapidly.  He laboured each day with pick and shovel with the\u003cbr\u003eenergy of a hero and the dogged perseverance of a navvy, and each night\u003cbr\u003ehe went to Lantry's store to increase his gains by gambling.  As a\u003cbr\u003ematter of course his \"luck,\" as he called it, varied.  Sometimes he\u003cbr\u003ereturned to the tent which he shared with his friend Westly, depressed,\u003cbr\u003eout of humour, and empty-handed.  At other times he made his appearance\u003cbr\u003eflushed with success--occasionally, also, with drink,--and flung down a\u003cbr\u003eheavy bag of golden nuggets as the result of his evening's play.\u003cbr\u003eUltimately, when under the influence of drink, he staked all that he had\u003cbr\u003ein the world, except his clothes and tools, to a man named Gashford, who\u003cbr\u003ewas noted for his size, strength of body, and utter disregard of God and\u003cbr\u003eman.  As Brixton said, Gashford had cheated him at play, and this had\u003cbr\u003erendered the ruined man unusually savage.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe sun was down when the two friends entered their tent and began to\u003cbr\u003epull off their muddy boots, while a little man in a blue flannel shirt\u003cbr\u003eand a brown wide-awake busied himself in the preparation of supper.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"What have you got for us to-night, Paddy?\" asked Westly.","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47170558066928,"sku":"2940013654785","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013654785_p0.jpg?v=1763583922","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013654785","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}