The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1881-02-10
\ SENTIMENTAL GAMBLER.

/ Ous you KNOW well enough Wuere Ii was,
for if | amt in the wrong I seed you
there, and you owe me now for stack of
chips. It was a square game, you lad
better believe it. In all the table draw
ers there were six-shooters handy, and
mostly kept knife in my bootleg
Well, it was thriving game. for 1 dealt
to most Of the bloods in town, and had
often as many as FIVE lay outs at time,
with roulette going between SPELLS
| One night young chap with vacant
stare in his face strolled in, and con-
cluded right off that he was green. I
have an affection for green men. Obi
how sympathise with them! He was
fair haired, had blue eyes, and milk
/ teeth, and just as innocent looking as a
sucking pig. I knowed he was my meat,
| tenderer nor chicken, the moment sot
eyes on him. Just one of those lovely
| creatures as had never set foot in gamb-
ling saloon before. Pity him? Much
| If you ever did want to see a heart Just
stopping over with sympathy, wish you
could get sight of mine. There meyer
was q sporting man that hadn't soft
heart, mealier than billed potato. It's
a constant weakness that mostly spoils
| their business. When [ get more flush
you Just call on me and write me up
some yarn for the papers about these
soft hearted, benevolent sports, some
| thing that Will make the women cry, and
you will be good for ten-dollar bill; the
| papers can't publish too many of them.
Well, about this here young fellow
Some pards of mine had roped him in
Bless you, we had spotted him months
| ago. we made up little game, and
| some friends played against memo
holding the box, and the way they
| squeezed me was awful. Pretty soon
| they got him to take hand just for fun,
ho going shares, a-chipping in, and we
let him make hundred dollars or so.-
I disremember how much. We knowed
he was sell sot; his old nanny had cav
ell in six months before, and he was good
for forty thousand dollars.
Now we was not going to let any other
party get him, for there was lot OF fel-
lows a-ruEning an opposition to us in the
town. We had kind of started small, and
the bank wasn't worth more than eight
hundred dollars when we first worked
her, and that young fellow had cost us
as much as $50 in tolling of him in before
we got him safe. Some particular friends
of mine hived on him aud we stood the
racket. I no sooner looked him over
than I made up my mind that our money
was not wasted. He wasn't q growler,
but just an easy going sort of chap that
took things as they come. We didn't
press him; if it took the whole season to
play it on him we didn't mind. Some
nights we would drop thousand cool,
then the next day we would let him pick
up hundred or so. Kind of kept him
in heart you know. When he begun he
wasn't much on liquor, but we got him
to take his tod pretty brisk after awhile.
Good liquor2 you had better believe
it. What's the use of hocussin' stuff? its
never done nOwmuch, excepting by burg
lars. The servant was regularly ordered
to give him drink when any Of uswink
ed, and we kept a winking. A man wants
sustaining, and we was blessed sight
too tender hearted to let him feel his
losses. Many ana many time ne and
my pards had put him to sleep III the
back room with money IT, his pocket,
which we might have took, and never
have known nothing; but a sporting man
as respect hisself is above that kind of
game. Well, he kept straight on like
good one, and the more he lost the worse
was hisjudgment. It was SO easy thing
that there was really no fun in it. When
spring time came the bank was thirty
thousand dollars ahead, and the burned
fool hadn't over hundred dollars to his
name. We had been mighty polite and
alfable to him so far, but when fellow
| has only hundred dollars, and watch
and scarf pin, and viii keep hanging
around q game, he ain no use. He kept
on a coming, though, and 1 just knew
that if we did not freeze him out he would
turn out to be regular saloon loafer.-
One night he came in and hung off for
ar-hile; we thought he hadn't a red, but
by and by he shows 500 dollars. I was
kind of curious to know where the mon
ey had come from. We laid low for him
and just sucked in his money as easy as
could be. Next day we found outhe had
kept back some of his money to build a
marble monument over his mother, and
had had the plans made. But l rather
guess the tombstone cutters did not divvy
any of that money much, and the old
| woman amt got no headstone yet to speak
of as l knows of. What's the use Of such
things anyhow? Then he did not turn
up for week, and we thought we was
shot of him. One howling bad night,
when the room was full and there was no
place st the tables, he comes in and edg-
es up to where l was dealing. He had
pawned his oyereoat quite likely, for be
was shiYering from the rain; he draws a
few quarters from his pocket, but shut
down on him, telling him it was dollar
game, and that there was no room for
| him. He pulls cut his watch and offers
1t for seventy five dollars worth of chips;
1t might be worth that for the old gold in
'he case, but we wasn't pawnbrokers, so
we let nm have fifty dollars on it. He
tooh the chips greedily, two rousing
drinks and played like fool. What a
burned baby he wasl 1 KEEP. sIoshing