Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1868-07-25
JULY 25, 1868. 4la'a qal'.,n 9a. .asiSs5 a3a'5

Ine queen ,IoSt-the fknaye, Won-and
again the banker passed to me the
cheques which the Hoosier had lost. 2s,
Once more my companion asked me if
Iwould go with him. l told him could
not, and he went away without mes
Forty eight cheques were upon the
knave, in four stacks. " Q q. h3oI l7" ~
Stranger, do you go them yer-all %
The Hoosier asked me this question,
at the same time pointing to my
cheques. ;Itold him eyes" He bought
more cheques, and placed a number
equal to mine on the queen .-1od isrl
:s'Thisyer keard must win some time,"
he muttered, as he Strengthened up his
stack of ivory, and then added, glancing
atmy pile,ts'an' that yer knave's got to
lose aforeahe is much older."0 yl!!sl
The dealer began to throw off the
cards again, The .knave, came. first; it
had won.d The queen came next; the
banker turned it upon his left hand--the
bank won-the Hoosier lost. As before,
the cheques. which came from the queen
were passed over to me- 0oiaJ sd1 .19wos
Il besitated, but the spell was upon
me, and / could not break it. Z I piled
up, the cheques -ninety-six of them
and lyentured them 7upcn the knave
again The Hoosier eyed me sharply,
and then ventured a like amount upon
the. queen, at the same, time muttering to
himself that such luck couldn't last, al
ways. Again the cards were slid off,
and, to the astonishment cf all who were
watching the game, the knave and the
out Too noth h.r tha
knave to the right, theaqueen to the left.
had won-the Hoosier had lost. The
banker now took in my smaller cheques,
and gave me in exchange some worth
twenty dollars each. My last stake had
been four hundred and eighty dollars,
and my present pile was consequently
nine hundred and sixty dollars. lsHavao7
b"Make it thousand! - whispered
the Hoosier. s'siasf .aE @a 41'i.'.
,.Done,"' I replied, and added two
cheques to my accumulated venture. su
Again the banker began to throw off
his cards, right and left. The 'knave
came up first to the right. / had won.
The queen came up to the left-lost.
The Hoosier drove his hand into his bo-
som and brought forth pocketbook,
from which he took roll of bank notes.
go yer two thousand !" he said, in
hoarse whisper. "I've got that
much" H.4 -sl 7istiai7Yor} 1ii1 .'i .-3l'2
My first impulse, before he had spo,
ken, had been to do that very thing, but
now 1 hesitated. What had i to do
with him 2 l was not playing with him
Il was not betting against him; my
play was simply against the banker,
| and his was the same. / told him as
much. ,.
mo, no." he said, eagerly. "It's agin
luck we're playin'. Them yer two keards
is in for it. The knave's your'n, and
the queens mine. Go yer two thousand -
! All that had upon the table before
me, save one solitary cheque of twenty
dollars, had won; so / had little real
risk to run. =. l.l ls- ~ iai.' ..l-, -5 +.
ait is done," I said; and down went
two thousand dollars upon the knave.
The Hoosier placed his venture upon
the queen; there were some cheques and
some bank notes, in all two thousand
dollars. His hand quiyered little as
he pushed the pile forward, and then he
turned to watch the movements of. the
banker. ...s. .---s -....,f ED, -.
The cards began to move off once more,
and this time the table was surrounded
7 by an eager crowd. There was some-
thing novel in the spectacle of two men
playing against each other at faro; and
it struck me as being excessively novel
|, too. But it was no doing Of mine. The
Hoosier seemer to have superstitious
faith that our chances were running to-
gether. However, 1 meant to make this
= one venture further, and then break the
/, spell, let it be win or lose. Right and
left-right and left. The queen came
up first-to the left Lost! The knave
came up-to the right! 20 1 had won
again gathered up my gains, and
! then looked for the Hoosier but he had
| gone. --...
T. "Perhaps you'll try the knave again 2
said the banker ,--7 80. ,.- 80, go. =.
Itold him mo, 1 had played enough
Ipushed over my cheques, and he gave
me the cash for them-some gold, and
some bank notes-to the amount OF
q nearly six thousand dollars. went to
! the bar, and took glass of wine, and
| then started for my boat. The nightwa
dark, and had long distance to walk
1 looked at my watch as | camo through
the hall, and found it to be half an hour
past midnight. I began to think had
been a fool. But there was, and must
make the best of my way to the boat Sc
| l started at brisk walk, intending to
strike the levee near the Mint, and then
follow the course of the river. / had
gone half mile or so, when / heard
heavy footsteps behind me. increased
my rate of speed, but the following foot
steps still came nearer. hurried on
but to no effect-the echo behind me
was not to be outwalked. felt for my
pistol, but 1 had none. 1 had moi
brought it with me; | had dirk knife
and that was all. By-and-by the ster
sounded SO near that 1 turned to see
who it was that thus pursued me. At a
distance of only few yards came tall
gaunt figure. which 1 at once recognized
| bv the street lamp. As the dull glare
! fell upon the x-like form, knew it was
the Hocsier!
s 1 would have started to run, but it was
too late. He was upon me. and his
hand was upon my arm. / would have
shouted for help. but he might have kill
ed me to stop my noise. L would have
drawn my dirk knife, but the show OF
opposition might only have called the
giants strength down upon me to crush
me- My instinct told me to be passive
and wait for the worst. We were in a
lonesome spot, with not a light visible,
save the few street lamps that sent their
sickly rays through the dingy glass; and
/ if the fellow meant to rob me, or kill me,