Cards don’t lie by B. Virginia Lee
Biographical Notes
B. Virginia Lee was born in Fresno, a town in central California, in 1902. When she married
in 1925, she moved to San Francisco and began a successful career as a literary journalist.
She soon rose to become editor-in-chief of a journal, before moving to New York to work as
the literary editor of the New American for many years.
Alongside her journalism, she found time to write a great deal of fiction, including the scripts
for several Hollywood films.
Summary
Fill in: accuses - convinced - hold-up - invincible – props – retain – soaked - shuffles villains
Western stories are usually built on certain clichés such as ____________________ heroes,
unscrupulous _______________________, fights, robbery, etc. Essential ______________
are rifles, horses, stage coaches, wagons, trains, saloons and so on.
The story "Cards Don't Lie" is no exception. The stage coach to Markleville has been robbed
several times, but this time the ______________________ goes even more smoothly than
before. The only passenger seems to be a little too willing to hand over to the gunmen not
only his own money but also the mailbags. He does, however, manage to ______________
his cat, Trillium.
When the coach arrives in Markleville the usual crowd gathers to listen to the report of the
robbery. Everyone seems ___________________________ that Sandy Terris, the young
passenger, was involved in the hold-up. He is taken to Al Crabbe's bar where, to the
astonishment of the sheriff and the crowd, he says he can tell where the robbers are with the
help of a deck of cards. While the young man __________________ the cards the cat strolls
around and rubs up against three men. Sandy cuts the cards and holds up the jack of spades
and the king of diamonds. He says that two of the bandits resemble these two pictures.
Immediately the crowd turns to two men who fit these descriptions, Russell and Stowe.
Announcing that "cards don't lie", Sandy points to the two men and ___________________
them of being responsible for the hold-up. He then tells the crowd that the stolen money and
mailbags are in that very saloon. When investigations prove him correct the three villains,
Stowe, Russell and Crabbe, are arrested.
1
Sandy later explains that he is a United States postal inspector and that the money and
mailbags were _________________________ in catnip before the coach set off. It was then a
simple matter to let his cat pick up the trail again.
The story, though containing certain western clichés, has an unusual ending. Both the ending
and the method used to track down the robbers give it an individual note and contribute to the
amusing tone.
Unit I
1. The Contents
Who is Sandy Terris?
Why does Sandy have his cat with him?
Why are the people in Markleville angry with Sandy?
How do people react when Sandy tells them he will find the bandits with the
help of his cards?
2. The function of the card trick
What is the function of the card trick?
The ending comes as a surprise to the crowd. Why? How do the readers react?
Unit II
The Western as a Genre
1. Stock characters, settings and props
Find typical western clichés in the story.
1) the hold-up,
2) sheriff,
3) saloon,
2
2. Stereotypes and their function
The following points are valid for most westerns, but especially for 'pulp' westerns, that is the
cheap, mass-produced, serialized novels and comics, and some television series.
The hero: appearance and personality
What do most western heroes look like? What sort of men are they? The typical western hero
The villain: appearance and personality
What are typical villains like?
How does the reader react to them
The women
What about the women in westerns? What are they like?
The women are limited to two roles:
3
3. Function of these stereotypes
Why do you think the characters are so stereotyped? Is it an advantage if the reader can tell
whether they are “good” or 'bad' from their appearance? Is there any disadvantage?
If the characters are shown as stereotypes it is easier for the reader to tell whether they are
'good' or “bad”. This makes the story easier to follow because the reader does not have to
Stereotyped characters make the readers feel secure because
4. The crowd
Think of all the westerns you know. How does the crowd usually behave? Compare this with
the way the hero behaves. How might the relationship between crowd and hero influence the
readers?
5. Is this story a typical western?
The atmosphere of this story is that of a western. As in most westerns the plot is fast and easy
to follow. But it is also different from other westerns. How?
4