Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1859-04-06


saloons in the city of Mobile TIon hn!
g piayeu ana drunk deep, and, flushed witt
uquor ana excited by the vicissitudes o
1ne game, had become boisterous in helm
ylor ana reckless in betting. The mos
sVrlklng-looking individual of the grop,
was STOUT square built man, apparently
D oeVWeen hity and sixty years of age, with
grayish hair and whiskers, sullen brow
|. anu Keen eyes, peculiarly sinister in ex.
preston. Everything in his mannor and
, appearance betokened a gross but viporou,
,, compound of the bully, the blookIeg and
the sensualist in his nature. He was les,
} NOISY than his companions. in fact had
iapsed INTO complete silence during tbe
last halt-hour of the game, and was evi.
uehiy struggling to conceal or to suppress
9oile powerful emotion. The thick linz
qul'ereo, the corrugated brows were knit
oioseiy together, and the nervous tension
az tne corners of the mouth displayed the
working OF intense and almost uncontrol.
iaole passion. He had bet heavily and
lost constantly during the sitting, and was
evidently suspicious that the 9ame had
not oeen ialrly conducted on the part of
ms opponents. He had staked and lost
MS last wager, very large one, when he
rose suilenly from the table, seized his hat,
ana, without word of explanation, left
the room.
In less than half an hour he returned,
threw down gingling bundle upon the
table, aud bantered his companions, who
still fingered in the saloon, for renewal
OF the game. They readily accepted the
challenge, and all four resumed their for.
mer seats at the table
Now, gentlemen" said the challenger,
placing revolver upon the table close at
hand, fair play all round the board. |
nave lost all my money, and want chance
TO win some OF it back. have here" he
continued, displaying at the same time,
the contents Of the bundle he had thrown
upon the table, "a reserved fund upon
which l draw whenever cash gives out. 1t
consists, as you see, of an assortment of
trinkets of one kind or another, which
have picked up here and there in my wan-
derings, and keep for rainy days, many of
which, you know, come round in the life
time OF men of our profession. Some of
these pieces | have had for well-nigh
thirty or forty years. / have rarely had
occasion to draw upon this fund, and when
| do alwas select the pieces last acquired
Tor use. The older ones have become q
sort OF old acqaintances with me- and |
hate to part with them. But have tax.
Ell notion, | don't know why, to put up
some of my very oldest pieces tonight
They have been idle long enough, and it
Is time they were OF some use in the world"
Thus speaking, he proceeded to select
from the bundle several golden and silver
trinkets and jewels, and deposited them
IN pile upon the table. The remainder
he carefully wrapped up, and put in an
inner side-pocket of his coat.
These" said he, "are all that shall
risk tonight. If you are willing to stake
money against them, we can easily decide
upon the terms of the wager. If you win.
no valuation of the jewels will be neces
sary, for they will be yours whether they
be worth little or much. If win, then
you are to pay me so much money as will
be equal in value to the Jewels staked;
that value to be determined by any Jewell
Ter, OF good credit, in the CITY,"
The first reply made by his associates TO
this proposal was to draw each revolver
and place it on the table. They were all
desperate men, accustomed to scenes like
the present, and were, therefore, neither
intimidated nor surprised by the hostile
demonstration of their comrade. They as,
sented to the wager of their money against
his jewels, upon the terms he proposed
for assessing their relative value, and the
game began.
The stakes were soon lost and won. The
jewels passed from their former owner to
new hands, and the loser satisfied that he
could neither intimidate his opponents,
nor match them in Skill bore his loss with
equanimity, and announced his
intention to play no more that night. At
q late hour, therefore, the parties left the
saloon, and sought their respective lodg-
ings.
The next day the winners exchanged
their jewels and silver trinkets, for arti- |
cles better suited to their taste and neces- !
sites, with an obscure dealer in that line, |
who kept small shop in the extreme
west end of Dauphin-street. The respect |
able jewellers of the city refused an ex-
change, either not liking the articles, or |
is often done in cases of |
barterage with unknown adventurers-a |
of them as stolen property.
In few weeks after the occurrence of
the events just described, A. NJ visi-
ted Mobile, as most planters dealing in |
that city do, to receive from his commits
sion merchants the proceeds of his cotton
crop, and to purchase his annual supply
Of family and plantation groceries. On .
his way down upon the boat, he was wait 4
I'd on by a sprightly, bright, colored cabin
boy, named Ben. These cabin-boys form
, peculiar feature in the economy of our
southern steamboats,. Their office is to
wait on the passengers in their rooms and
1t table, to perform the duties of the cult
nary department, and to do the almost
iumberless little jobs and errands requr-
"a on passenger boat. Being confined
closely to the vessel during the business
eason, they have but one means of re-
,lenishing their pockets with cash, but
hat they use with great assiduity and sue
,ess. Whenever the boat stops at land \
ng, which it does very frequently upon
III our rivers, they dart out upon shore,
\