Outcasts of Poker Flat

Outcasts of Poker Flat Summary | Detailed Summary

This story takes place in November of 1850 in the town of Poker Flat, California. John Oakhurst, a gambler, is met with the suspicious glances of some of the residents as he walks onto the town's Main Street. Assuming the people of the town are "after somebody," Oakhurst continues on his way. Apparently, Oakhurst's assumption is correct; recently stricken by a series of thefts, the townspeople appointed a secret committee in order to rid the town of those believed to be responsible.

Two suspects were hanged while others were banished from town. John Oakhurst was supposed to be hanged; however, his life was spared by a small contingent that was fortunate to win some of his money.

The day of Oakhurst's banishment from Poker Flat arrives, and he is joined by three other people: a prostitute known as The Duchess, her madam, Mother Shipton, and Uncle Billy, a suspected thief and notorious drunk. The four people are escorted to the edge of town and are given orders never to return.

Left alone, the group contemplates their fate. The Duchess is clearly upset; Mother Shipton is angry and Uncle Billy curses in anger. However, John Oakhurst remains silent. Oakhurst, in a gesture characteristic of his gentile qualities, insists that The Duchess ride his horse while he travels on her old mule.

The group begins their journey to Sandy Bar, a new settlement that has not yet been exposed to the negative influences the group represents. Sandy Bar, which lies on the other side of a steep mountain range, is at least a day's travel away. As they leave the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, the relatively mild weather gives way to harsher temperatures and the trail upon which they are traveling becomes narrow, increasingly difficult to navigate.

They travel until mid-day, at which point, The Duchess gets off her horse and declares she does not intend to travel any farther. John Oakhurst quickly surveys their surroundings and while he believes the spot is suitable for a camp, he also knows that they are less than halfway to their destination and they do not have the provisions for a trip longer than one day's duration, a fact that he points out to his traveling companions.

Oakhurst's protests are nonetheless overruled and the group settles in with only a bottle of liquor to sustain them. Oakhurst does not drink; his profession as a gambler requires that he be able to maintain his composure. As he watches the others, he begins to regret the actions that have brought his life to this point. In an effort to rid his mind of these thoughts, he cleans himself up and looks at his surroundings.

As he looks around, John Oakhurst hears a voice calling his name and instantly recognizes Tom Simson, a young man from Sandy Bar. As the result of an earlier incident, Oakhurst refers to Simson as "the Innocent." Oakhurst had once engaged the young man in a gambling session and won his entire fortune of forty dollars. Feeling sorry for the young man, Oakhurst returned the money and warned Simson that he should never gamble again. Consequently, Simson feels a sense of indebtedness toward Oakhurst.

Simson reports that he and his fifteen-year-old fiancé, Piney Woods, are on their way to Poker Flat to be married. They were both tired, but they were elated that they had met up with Oakhurst and his party so that they could camp. Oakhurst attempts to discourage Simson and Piney from staying, telling them that they have no provisions. Simson tells him that he has a mule loaded with provisions and that he had spotted an abandoned cabin near the trail where they can stay. Incorrectly assuming that The Duchess is Oakhurst's wife, Simson suggests that Piney stay with her. That evening, the group has a conversation around a campfire. As night falls, the women retire to the cabin and the men sleep around the fire.

John Oakhurst is awakened in the morning by a numbing cold, soon discovering that it is snowing. Suddenly, Oakhurst realizes that Uncle Billy is gone and the mules are missing. Fortunately, they had previously removed the provisions from the mules and stored them within the cabin.

When the others awake, Oakhurst tells them that they are snowed in. With the provisions they have, they can likely last ten days. He chooses not to tell Simson about Uncle Billy's theft of the mules. Rather, he concocts a story in which Uncle Billy had wandered from the camp and accidentally stampeded the mules.

Simson is eager to stay and is more than willing to share his provisions. The group spends the day preparing the cabin for their stay. Oakhurst goes searching for the trail, and when he returns, he finds the group happily laughing around the fire. As the evening wears on, they sing songs accompanied by Simson's accordion and bone castanets.

As the days wear on and their supply of food dwindles, the festive atmosphere gives way to a more somber mood. A week passes, and on the tenth day, Mother Shipton summons Oakhurst. Having grown noticeably weaker over the preceding days, she tells Oakhurst that she is dying. She instructs him to take the bundle from under her head and when he opens it, he is surprised to find her entire allotment of food. She instructs Oakhurst to give the food to Piney as she dies.

After Mother Shipton is buried in the snow, Oakhurst takes Simson aside and instructs him to go to Poker Flat for help. Oakhurst says he will accompany Simson to the canyon. Before leaving, he grabs The Duchess and kisses her, taking her by surprise.

Night falls and it begins to snow again. Oakhurst has not returned. The Duchess looks outside and sees that someone - most likely Oakhurst - has piled enough wood to last a few more days outside the cabin.

Alone in the cabin, Piney and The Duchess begin to realize that they will not leave alive. As night passes to morning, they find they can no longer feed the fire and it dies out. The two women huddle together and fall asleep.

Two days later, when officials from Poker Flat finally reach the camp, the two women are dead. Leaving the camp, they find a playing card - the two of clubs - pinned to a pine tree with a suicide note from John Oakhurst.