Daily globe., 1881-07-31
ing tone, II never play with man
4 whose face cannot look at -

ing tone, II never play with a man
whose face cannot look at"
"Never mind my face" said the stran-
ger; eff you are not afraid of losing,
you shall see it when / am done with
you"
"But how do / know that you have
money for such sport?'' persisted Sturdi-
want; ''you look seedy, my fine fellow"
"There!'' exclaimed the stranger; 81
have ten thousand dollars there; if you
can win it, you shall have it,"
With an oath Sturdivant placed him
self at the table, and bade his challenger
do likewise. Those of us who had listen
ed to this singular dialogue now gathered
around the table, expecting to see game
of more than usual interest. The stran-
ger had not raised his hat brim, and none
Of us had yet seen his face, but we all
felt, from his general air and manner,
that Daniel Sturdivant had at last met
his match. 1t did not take long to show
US that the stranger was an unusually
good player, and for an hour or more the
PLAYING went or in silence The stakes
were high, and the contest was marked
with rare skill. Sturdivant eXerted him
self as he had never done before, but in
spite of all his efforts he lost heavily, and
by the expiration of the time mentioned
above he had lost about two thousand
dollars. l noticed the flush on his face
deepen, {. strange light came into his
ewes, and at last, with an exclamation of
triumph, he drew toward him the heap Of
notes.
'"rhat was well DONE" said the stran-
ger; 'YOu are an expert at cheating, but
90 on; can beat you, Daniel Sturdivant,
whether you play openly or dishonesty
Sturdivant said nothing, but dealt the
cards again. The hand was played, and
Sturdivant was about to seize the stakes
again, when the Stranger laid down a card
and checked him.
The gambler uttered sharp cry, and
sat motionless, with his eyes fixed on the
card, worn, faded ace Of hearts, with
dark stain across the face. Sturdivant'
face worked convulsively as he gazed
i, and the spectators gathered more close
ly around the two, wondering at tn
strange scene.
'In Gods name who are your" asked
Sturdivant, his eyes still fixed on the
card.
"Look at me, said the stranger, quiet
]y. And as if powerless to resist, Sturdi-
want raised his eyes to the speaker.
The stranger had raised his hat and
sat looking at the trembling man, with
eyes that fairly blazed with fury. Stur-
divant uttered a groan, and sank back in
his chair, with his face white and rigid.
The stranger gathered the money from the
table with one sweep, and thrust it into
bis bosom.
s'The ace of hearts is an unlucky card
for you, Daniel Sturdivant," he said,
coolly. "You played it once when you
thought it to your advantage Now,
God help you; that play is ended"
AS he spoke he raised pistol which
we had not seen, and, before we could
stop him, aimed and fired The gambler
fell heavily upon the table, q corpse, and
the bright blood streamed over it, hiding
| the fatal card from sight
"Gentlemen,' said the stranger, rising
to his feet, as we stood paralyZed with
horror at the dreadful scene, ''that man
ruined my wife, and tried to murder me.
l have been hunting him for more than
ten years.
| He walked slowly by Us, down the
stairway to the lower deck, and just then
the steamer touched at the landing; ne
sprang ashore, and vanished in the dark
woods.
| never learned the history Of the mys-
terious affair, for the dead gambler was
beyond the reach Of questioning, and l
never saw the stranger again; but L shall
not forget the impression made upon me
at the time.