Bret Harte 
Protegee of Jack Hamlin’s and Other Stories 

The taciturn but kind gambler Jack Hamlin is a mainstay in the stories of Bret Harte, and Hamlin makes a number of appearances in this collection of tales, including the title story, "A Protegee of Jack Hamlin’s, " in which the gambler eludes the affections of several ardent admirers and saves a young girl who has been lured from her family home by an unscrupulous Casanova.