Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1876-05-12

A BIG GAME OF DRAW.

They were sitting around the table in
a Fifteenth Ward faro bank, New York,
that was temporarily closed through
some misunderstanding with the police
and having tired of short cards they fell
to telling stories. You may have
heard this one" said sqoare-jawed
iirm-faced, gray-whiskcred man, for it
was printed at the time" but | was
there
In tho latter part of 'G1 | made a
| trip down the river. There came on
board at Cairo a young paymaster, who
was on bis way to pay a brigade o.
troops somewhere in the ncighborhood
of Vicksburg. 1t was very quiet on the
boat, and on the first night below Cairo
the paymaster spent good deal Of his
time after supper in walking up and
down the saloon There was also walk
ing up and down the saloon trim,
square-shoudcred man, who seemed to
be suffering from the same tediousness
and when they had met few times the
stranger smiled at the poymaster and
said
Dull
Odd dull said the paymastcr
Suppose we have little game of
draw said the stranger
Good idea said the paymastcr,
and they sat down and went at il.
Both Of them were playing merely
to pass time, at least the pnymaster was
and the other man seemed to be.
They had one way or the other for an
hour or two, playing about IS for top
bet and neither Of them winning or
losing much, but still getting more and
more interested. Finally each seemed
to get high hand, and they began bet
ting heavily in the most natural sort Of
way The fire had been smouldering,
you see, and it broke out apparently
without their knowing it.
Neither of them seemed disposed to
lay down, and they kept on raising I'M
til they were making bets Of two, three,
five hunded dollars, and they got the pot
up to about seven thousand. Then
the stranger rested his eye on the pay
master for moment and made an csti-
mate Of the amount of his pluck and the
probable size of bis pile, and the result
OF his observation seemed to be belief
that be could bluff him or freeze him
out, for he threw bis hand down on the
table and leaned over and pulled bowie
knife from his boot and drove the point
Of it down through the cards into the
table. Then he took big wallet out Of /
bis breast pocket and counted out TWEEN
.y-one five hundred dollar notes. He |
saw the paymaster's last bet of five hum
lucd, and then hauled revolver off his
zip, pushed the other twenty bills into
he pot, and said
81 raise You ten thousand dollars"
"The payInaster looked at the gamb-
er about two seconds. Then he beck
med to his colored boy, bright young
elbow who had taken the thing in from
he start, and would have given his mas
er the wink if be had ever happened to
ook in his direction, which he hadn't
But he Frightened up when be heard the
word, aud walked off for the paymastcr's
tatcroom He disappeared IA moment,
nd then showed up again, backing
through the door, dragging a trunk after
i'm /; and he came down the saloon roll
D that trunk on its end just as handy
5 though be had smashed baggage on a
me all bis life. The paymaster took
ey out Of bis pocket, threw up the lid
f the trunk and took off sheet Of sole
Gather that seemed TO serve os sort Of ,
binder for the bundles Of bills UNDER
cath. He took two big packages out
T the end and laid them upon one side
the table. Then he began taking out
nd stacking up till he had built a big
'iaug!c shaped pile like two pairs Of
-airs meeting at the top and all filed in
)lidly underneath. h
Then lie threw bis hand down on