The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1882-09-19
HOW MANY"

The police of this city were well &C
quainted with the keno" and 'tclub-room'
on Poydras street, a year or two ago, KEEP
by party whom we will call Brown, .
The proprietor not only dealt all the
brace Banking games, but often tool
hand at draw poker whenever the OPP
portun1ty presented itself, and he found &
'ssueker" foolish enough to play with him
Like all sporting gentlemen 60 in his
line he was an adept at cards, and manip-
ulated them to suit himself.
To play poker after Browns method, il
was necessary to have partner who usu-
ally dropped in Just to make up the par
ty, you know but, of course,Zfhe part
nership contract was not made known to
the victim to be fieeced.
Brown had faithful follower and
henchman ia Vic. p, and between the pair
they succeeded in robbing everybody whe
played with them. On one occasion. af.
ter s.jobbing" victim to the extent OF
about $700, Brown failed to "divy9 with
Vic, in consequence of which the latter
became very angry, but bottled up his
wrath to be revenged later on.
Several days after this little business
transaction, Vic. informed Brown of a
gentleman of immense wealth, by prefes-
sion doctor, who resided in Mobile and
was on the eve of visiting New Orleans
and further represented to Brown that the
medical gentleman in question was not
averse to little game of draw" and
never kicked when he lost.
This information was received with
evident pleasure and satisfaction on the
part of Brown, and arrangements were
accordingly made for the strangers cap
ture.
Brown handed Vic. the necessary funds
to tai his friend to the lake, there to
feast Ma CA his arrival from Mobile, after
which. own was to be introduced to the
medical gentleman, poker proposed and
Vic's Mobile friend Systematically re-
lieved of his superfiuous cash bysVie. drop
ping out after the first two or three hands
taking his place behind the s'Doctor"
and giving his hand to Brown by ftsigns. :"
The unwary stranger, after having been
introduced as DIR. Williams of Mobile. !"
readily fell into the trap that had been land
for him. He was rather tall, of slender
and graceful carriage, clean shaven, with
the exception of slight. black mustache,
black, curly hair, with rather small, but
piercing black eyes, and presented alto
gether a handsome, but rather NJ. d. APP
pearance, with his neat fitting garments
and the absence of anything denoting
'fiashiness,
The programme was faithfully carried
out, Vic. dropping out of the game, and
taking his seat behind the doctor" who
let the former see his hand regularly, and
Vic. faithful to his trust, gave it just as
regularly away to Brown. The doctor
smiled as he lost, and. seemed unconscious
of the way in which he was being played
as sucker" for the more he lost the
more he smiled. Brown was delighted with
MS congenial humor, excessive good ma
ture and amiability, and thought the DOC, "
rs he Familiarity called him, a daisy"
All things must have an end. So did
his game of poker.
The doc" dealt the cards with his usual
affability, and handed over three skies
with two other cards to Brown, bnt luck
seemed to be with the DOC" this time,
md he skinned three Jacks out of his
hand, which he promptly showed to Vic,
and Vic as promptly gave them away to
Brown. The doctor raised the blind $40,
and Brown, although he knew that the
three jacks were against him, gave up the
requisite amount to try and better his
land Brown discarded two cards and
he Doc. not wishing to be impolite drew
he same number which he carelessly threw
IN top of his jacks aosttout looking at them
md bet $40.
Brown was more cautious than his oppo-
lent, and scanning his cards found pair
If aces filling his hand, thereby making a
full" by ''sixes" Knowing that the
Doctor had three jacks, 1t was SO chanc-
IS to 100 that his hand would not be bet
cred, and on thisssound reasoning he saw
he doctors $40 and went 500, better.
The doctor saw the 500 and went $500
,etter and there is no doubt that the bet
ing would have continued until now only
or the slight circumstance that Brown
vas forced to 'scalP' owing to a lack of the
necessary where fthal," but not until
he neat sum of $500 lay piled up on the
able.
The doc" drew the money toward him
With his left hand and with his right gent
Y laid down-.f0stq jacks! If the doctor
eemed to be astonished at his own hand.
It which he had not looked, Brown was
more so, for he turned black in the face,
md grabbing at the money just in time to
ee it disappear in Docs pocket drew his
evolver, when the weight of a chain in the
lands of Vic. felled him to the floor, and
fter the revolver had been placed in the
hands for safe keeping, the
octor, highly indignant at the treatment
e had received at the hands of those
vhom he considered friends, walked leis-
RELY to the depot, where he took the train |
or town, while Vic. had disappeared in the |
reeds and brush that line the lake. Vic was
ow fully avenged for the wrong perpetra-
ed on him by Brown for "divying" with |
i'm, for Brown afterward ascertained that |
Doctor Williams was none other than |