The American patriot., 1855-04-06
u ~
CLINTON, LA. APRIL 6, 1855

nearest card. The young gambler had in the
meanwhile been dragged to the door by several
powerful Irish volunteers where he was re-
ccived by two policemen summoned from the
adjacent station, and bore off to durance vile.
All the curiosity -mongers in the room, and
their name was legion, had throngcd up to the
spot where the shot was fred, to see as much
as possible Of the anticipated row. Even the
counter was deserted for second or two; but
not longer. At this moment, too, shouts,
laughter and noise, were heard from the other
side of the room. What had occurred there
. Bravo! that was capital, hurrah !" the mob
shouted and the shrill voice of a man, who was
energetically protesting against something or
other was continually drowned in noisy bursts
OF applause. A peculiar circumstance had ta-
ken place here, in which the mob speedily per.
formed the functions of judge and jury, and
gave its verdict. ....-......
A man in blacktail coat and dark trowsers,
very clean and respectable, had come for seven
evenings in succession to the same table, had
watched the game for awhile, until at last he
produced small canvass bag from his breast
pocket and laid it on card The card won on
the first evening, and he emptied the bag on
the table to count the money. 1t contained twen-
ty-eight Spanish dollars, which the banker qui-
city paid him, and the g gentleman "qutted the
table with his earnings without deigning to
tempt Dame Fortune again. On the second
evening he returned, stakcd, and the card lost
With the greatest GOODNESS he opened the bag
and it contained precisely the same sum as on
the previous evening, and quilted the ROOM
the same story. The bankers began to know
the man, and amused themselves about his
strange behavior; as usual, he lost, took up the
bag and walked away. r.. VI, -i4 4s.f.
The seventh evening arrived. It was just a
minute after eight, and the one banker said,
laughingly, to the other: "We have treated
him too hardly and frightened him away when
his comrade laughed. and the man in the black
coat without altering feature, or paying any
attention to the whispering and laughing. took
his usual place. quietly watched the progress
Of the game till q quarter past eight and then
laid the bag all knew so well upon deuce that
had just been turned up.
A couple of cards were turned up without
the two making its appearance. At last the
three fell to the left and to the right-a scarcely
perceptible smile played OIL. the bankers lips
the two The stranger turned deadly pale, but
without uttering a syllable about the change in
his luck he stretched out his hand to the sack,
and was on the point of opening it, in order to
count the dollars, when the banker said laugh
ingly: Let it be; know how many are in
-eight-and-twenty Am not right?"
"Not exactly" said the man calmly, and
shook the silver out on the table. He then
shook the bag still more, and a roll of bank
notes, slightly wrapped together, fell out.
"What's that's? " the banker cried in alarm,
and the audience pressed curiously round.
1Hy stahe!" the man said, with apparent
indifference as he unfastened the thread that
bound the notes. III. -.1 n - 7f7
stop; that will not do the banker cried
as he threw down his cards: "that's false play
You only paid eight-and- twenty dollars on the
previous evening" 't
"Fase play the man shouted, ard his eye
brows were menaeingly contracted. prove
it, you shutters. Did not lay the bag Just as
it is on the card, and have you'evcr refused to
pay it unopened"
"No! that's all correct-quitc right" said
those around, who are always glad to op-
pose the banker, because they are firmly CON
vinced that he does not play fairly, although
they continually throw away their money.
g He staked and won, and must be paid" 9TH
ers shouted. r a.2r~.z7i
"Count your money; how much is t?" said
the banker who had hureiedly exchanged few
words with his contedcrates, seated opposite
show much is it?' {-
lii the first place, twenty-eight dollars in
silver" he said calmly, while the bystanders
laughed heartily. "Thcn here in bank-note
two, three, four, yes, eight hundred dollars
and then" -Hl 5s-~ =E- h64
"What! more 81 ,--t ..:=l a=f .-=.- s-f
" \ small bill on Dollsrnith Brothers. as good
as silver, accepted and all the money need only
be fetuhed-for-thre thousand"
"Three thousand" the banker yelled, start
ing in disrnay from his chair. "Why, that
would make nearly four thousand dollars alto
gether Are you mad ? Do you expect me to
pay that? .
Don't I?" the stranger asked in surprise.
" Would you not have taken it if had lost? i"
"Of course he would-of course. Do you
ask whether they would take it? Every
thing they can get and a little more" f" too
shouted the voices round the table. He must
pay!n Lss
Gentlemen!" the banker protested in the
poor prospect Of turning their hearts: Gen
teulen, this person staked every evening for the
entire week"
"And lost every time" another interrupted
him. ."l have been present several times and
have heard SO from others, and he never made
the slightest objection.
But that was only eight-and-twenty dol
lars" 1y l*
"And if it had been SO many thousands, all
the same"
But do let me finish, the banker shreked,
with aspen looks and furious glances; he only
shook out twenty-eight dollars on the table and
kept the paper back"
'sProve that ever had a cent more than
twenty eight dollars in the bag the stranger
exclaimed contemptuously; "you won't get off
by such excuses" '.
"Why did you not keep the bag as WE'LL
companeros p laughed Spaniard who stood
near +" We always stick to everything that is
staked."
''If he had lost again, no more than the con-
founded dollars would have come out of the
bag" the banker growled. IT ...