The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1883-07-08
DO ARMr OFFICERS CAMILLE,
a Little Game sr Ecker IN which . Wssar,
Took . Frssu ASy Iue~rcss.

DO AAMF OFFICkhS 6AABLB1
A Little Game sr Fsker .. which q Ws.srt
Teok = FrfssAiy 1asercss.
"Do army officers gamble ?" A well.
known Indian fighter on furlough repeated the
question Of reporter Of The Bun with an al,
Of grim amusement. well. sir. I can onl,
answer for myself but do not; and may add
for your satisfaction that I do not beat m,
wife. In fact" added the brave old Majo,
gravely. shouldn't dare to do either"
But you are familiar with tho recent scan
dals-the case Of Major Nickerson. whose wife
seems to have beaten him In the courts. and
that OF Paymaster WATSON 2"
Two wives. like three aces. are never safe
to gamble on" observed the Major senten.
tiously. They look pretty. but they confuse
mans judgment and are relatively weak"
Is not pokor playing very common among
the officers Of the army. especially on frontier
posts ?" asked the reporter.
Il don't mind admitting to you that this card
playing for money is very bad thing for the
army. It's against army regulations and con-
trary to good discipline. and 1t playa the very
devil with the youngsters; but. bless my soul
sir. you might as we'll try to cashier q blizzard
or court martial Il flood on the Missouri as ia
abolish cards In the army. Human nature is
human nature. even when 1t reports for duty
at Fort Sill or Fort Arbuckle. and the days out
there. especially the stormy ones. are apt to
stretch out as long as an Indian bucks idea OF
his treaty rights. They will play poker. sir
and suppose / should play. too. II hadn't
had good lesson twenty years AGO.
Yes. sir" no continued. 1T was near the
end OF the war just before ApR-..pattox, that l
got sick Of cards. Poor -. No was In the
Custer affair and l we're on our way to the
front to be in at the death. We we're both Cap
tains In the same regiment. and he was Quar-
We had just left Washington. and sat
quietly smoking when two men on the car
asked us to make up a euchre table. OF course.
and after losing all 1 caret! to risk / quietly
dropped out and gave my whole attention to
Is % chea whom soad
not detect in any unfair play.
Snee wsn three H wsr. the h.
refused e call. exposed worthless hand on the
that the ohsr s did not inSSIse IN fe
neither nast s" *. s hsnd nor cHp
queens and = small card. There ' Was lively i
fling; saw The King as no picked II up. The
Der. and the other stranger. after some clumsy
hesitation: decided to stand his hand. hold
Presently the dealer. the man who had once
bet fifty on 9 worthless hand raised the Cap
tain q hundred, and the age man, who had
that had been brewing broke; the dealer made
no disguise Of consulting with Ills moneyed
he he Sns o. Out 0 81 hsl s so
bined funds the strangers managed to make a
raise OF n thousand dollars.
each. the dealer e, arm lying across the pack as
he looked tripmphantly at his adversary. The
sr.ngers had evidently gagged the Captains
leaned over him aud whispered a word OF
warnng whi lie the SCAMP across the table
Lay d, down such hand as that Nonsense
but he held up his cards Tor my inspection. and
! assure you. sir. on my honor as Il gentleman
and an officer. that. in place of the stray king
monds, sir. thanking his four queens. OF course
me hand was not intrinslcally worth more
Ing king had become an important factor. and
when the Captain asked me to lend him money
determined to SEQ the thing out. and emptied
~ and al sod we
could No. only muster eight hnAdre1 D -
an ipsolenee that made me In turn long for T the
row he evidently sought
,.,. viii you take my watch and chain for the
mot much aasS aHs And his
are II you want to know bad. when the game is
Tho pair had thrown of all disguise. and
Looked Looked just what they were. two fourth-rate
." I call sight for the money on the table,
and the CAPTAINS voice showed the self-control
The two gamblers broke into IA loud laugh,
and the dealer reached for the money boldly.
STOP ga, said; It is call for that sum by the
cb,,d Th m,h h. !! Isl We don't play no such
Just here benevolent, pious-l looking pa
Watplpl
game with a sort of ministerial in terest in
original sin, quietly handed a roll OF bills to the
Friend. if thee viii gamble. thee may H use envy my
money to thy salvation.
fever conquered. and the peaceful calm on the
lace OF his new ally reassured him. His face
fell. however. a. he found only. the needed two
their es VIII an ar Of shS
ment he flung the bills on the board. With an
up with one hand. while with the other he
bali way. though. for his jaw dropped and his
Issss s"d TIVE snSs hs Ens had
! , JI@. you're f9ojI' FOOL Kissed the
to know Who happened il 'Twsrsn rent ; you :esa he
to my friend Wh9 fa ia at the
he cards was ali right until-curse me. II /
don't believe that canting old Quaker played It
on us, Who are ye. anyway and Jim started
toward the old gentleman"
You don't seem to care to SEQ my four
queens said tho Captain. showing his hand.
~, Curse yer four queens. Yes. thought so.
Where'd yer get that ace-say. old man. do
know YEP"
j., The venerable stranger turned slowly. L
NM, ,a not, friend; but, that thee may know one
Jim snatched at the engraved visiting card
md read II In loud. angry voice:
PRor. ANDERSON,
Wizard Of the North.