Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1866-10-25
THE DUEL ON THE dixie.

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1t was fair day on the rive
iOhio. The grand saloons on tn
: steamer Kishicoquillac were crowd
ed with passengers. The ladie
) in the after portions lounged upol
luxurious divans, slipping coolins
beverages or sleeping over recen
literature, and in and out among
them played a dark-eyed child
who now and then cried petulently
for papa. The latter sat in the
dim, close, forward cabin, at one
of the many card tables. He
was pale and agitated, for he was
losing heavily. Little by little
fortune had beckoned him on, and
now that she was receding he
gambled recklessly; but the cool,
clever gentleman with the curling
hair, sitting opposite, swept off
the eagles without smile. Yhe
loser was wild at each misfortune;
he doubled his stakes, the winner
always closing the game, though
carelessly, and it was not hard to
read in the formers darkening face
that he counted his losses seri-
ously. 1t was q game of poker,
and there were participants, but
these two divided all attention.
Five cards were dealt to each, and
the players wagered upon the rel
ative value of the consequences.
If the troubled man held four tens,
the other was certain o;hold four
knaves; twice he held kings, the
other called four aces. f-a~t
II do not own a dime in the
world" cried the pale man at last;
"will you stake two hundred dol
lars against my watch p
The person with the flowing
hair bowed politely.
81 go the watch on my hand"
cried the pale gentleman, sanguine-
ly desperate.
81 raise you two hundred dol
lars" the person cried gravely.-
"You have handsome emerald
upon your fnger-will you stake
it for that amount?'
The pale man threw it down
with curse.
81 show four queens" be said.
"The ring and the watch are
mine," replied the other calmly;
Il show four kings"
The pale man sprang from his
chair with howl.
81 call God to witness that I
have been swindled," he hissed-
Il am disgraced, ruined. The
money | have lost was not mine.
That man has made me a thief,
and he wears upon his finger my
poor wife's wedding ring"
In another instant he had scat
tered his own brains upon the by
ISLANDERS. . rrss.
The survivor wiped his coat COM
placently and lit afresh cigar
The steamer was stopped at some
station, and amid the haste and
he stepped pleasantly
ashore. The lines had been cast
adrift, the wheels spun round again
and the boat moved, when a small,
piercing scream arose from the
throng. 1t was the dark-eyed
child, and he had found his. papa.
"Come here, my little man.
said an old negro steward lifting
the boy aloft and wiping his eyes;
"does yer see a gemman yonder
on the qua, a most spectacle gem
man agwine in de hack. Dat
man has got yer pas golden jew
els and watch"
The boy marked fiercely through |
his tears the shapely limbs and
the long bright ringlets, and on
the strangers white hand the
glitter of the dead mans gem.
A gush of grief shut out the scene,
and the steamer drifted away.
Twenty years followed, and
each year witnessed upon the
Western waters its hosts of dupes
and blacklegs. But among the
after class there was one singu-
arly eccentric and successful /
He never lost.
There were no impossibilities in
the games which he played. He
was a necromancer at cards
With some there were chances
he made chances certainty. He
plundered the poor and the rich,
yet cast their purses back again |