Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1886-10-21
A Dead Mans Money.

reporter, well, l uoh mIhu u no
I've been carrying one around in my
head for this twenty year, and | guess
it won't harm anybody if tell it to
you. 1t was away back in the early
COS, when me and Cy Merritt were
dealing faro in Baltimore. 1t was in
the fall of the year, loo, by t he way,
for | remember we had just rugged up
a stove near the roulette wheel. One
night when the play was light and
there was nobody about the house but
me and Cy, a man opened the door,
sat down at the faro table and bought
five stacks of chips. He was a young
Teller, this man was. He had light
mustache, blue eyes, and face as
white as a case sheet. Cy did the
dealing and | went up into the look.
out chair. The deal came our way all
through and the fellow lost his chips
in no time. But he was a dandy,
though. He was betting all over the
layout, and if he had ever called
the turn he'd knocked us silly. |
seen that the game was going to be
a heavy one, so | just locked the door
put on an old straw hat and watched
the bets. The Teller never said
word-more' to call for chips. He
never took his eyes off n the table
either. Long about midnight me
and Cy got hungry, and we asked the
Teller if he'd stop long enough to get
something to eat. lie said that he
wouldn't, and so the play went on.
Nearly every bet he made Cy picked
up. The Teller seemed strangely I'M
lucky, but he never beefed. Never q
word came out'n his head. He Just
set there and bet and lost until | got
sick. About daylight the Teller got
down to his last hundred. He blew
it all in for chips. He slapped $40
on the queen to lose and another saw
buck on the ace to win. He whip.
sawed us, begosh, and then Oy said
he was hungry and we had better 20
| get something to eat. The fellow said
he wouldn't have anything of the
kind. Me and Cy were about ready
to fall out of our chairs from hunger,
but the player seemed to be as fresh
as a lark, Every once in a while he d
take drink Of whiskey but that't
all.
From the moment he whip. sawed
us he began to win just as fast as he
had lost during the night. He was
making Cy and the money box sweat
when / exchanged places with my
partner, and began to fix the cards in
the sardine box for the next deal.
The stranger had his bets all made
when | tapped the box for luck. But
that was all the good it done me,
The Teller called the turn from start
to finish, and hauled enough TO make
him even Me and Cy were getting
a little uneasy and faint but the
stranger was as fresh as a daisy. We
kept on playing until away into the
afternoon with deal luck agin the
bank. 1t had been over twenty four
hours since we'd eaten mouthful Of
anything, but the Teller still insisted
on playing. At 8 o'clock he was
about $4,000 winner and showed no
signs Of quitting.
Finally l got so tired that ]
couldn't watch the bets no longer. |
got up and walked around the room,
while Cy began to deal. From that
minute the fellow began to lose, and
at midnight he was down to his last
hundred. / remember just how he
looked then, although it's twenty
years ago. His face looked like mar
BILE, his great blue eyes glittering with
a strange light. He had all his chips
in his left hand, while with his right
he stroked his long silk-lke mustache.
! was looking over his shoulder when
he made his last bet. He played the
same old cards again-the queen to
lose and the ace to win. Then he
leaned forward and watched Cy pull
the cards. | could almost hear the
strangers heart thump when Cy be-
gan to uncover the ace Of diamonds,
and when he unveiled the queen Of
hearts saw the players fingers witch
nervously, strange cry escaped from
his lirs, and then he fell backward
upon the hoor-dead.
81 will not tell you all that hap
pened from that time until the close
Of the coroner's inquest, for it is rath-
er unpleasant to me. But this much
I will tell you: When they searched
the feller's clothes they found nothing
! but this letter, which read
My Darling Henry