The three wise men

The three wise men by Ernest Haycox. It is a short story written in the early 20th century. Set in a fading desert railroad town, it follows three aging local officials—the marshal, the mayor, and the judge—whose back-room poker game frames a question of small-town justice and mercy. The likely topic is whether a community will protect a struggling woman with a troubled past from a predatory opportunist.

In the story, the three officials meet above an old bar to play cards and gossip about Peg Nell, a former prostitute who had been trying to live straight after working in a Greek restaurant. When Peg loses her job, rumors start that she will return to vice, and the men summon Sol Kirschberg, a slick curio dealer who hints he plans to exploit her when her money runs out. The officials quietly fleece Sol at the poker table, warn him to stay away from Peg under threat of jail, and then the mayor earmarks Sol’s losses as a “donation” to help her. The tale ends with their session closing for the day, revealing their rough-edged but real resolve to shield Peg and keep a measure of decency in their dying town. (This is an automatically generated summary.)