St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-03-19
BEAT THE BRACE GAME.
A Detectives Yarn of the Early
DAYS OF the MississiDpi,

A Detectives Yarn of the Early
Days OF the mississippi.
1t was Sunday afternoon and the
''gang" sat in the majors Office telling
experience" yarns, some of them
blessed with a semblance of truth and
others reeking with suspicion. The
cold detectives" turn came around, land,
taking a generous bit Of the weed, he
began:
''The tale | am about to relate" said
lie, refectively scratching his off ear,
occurred on the old Mississippi year
or two 'befO' de Wah.' | had taken pas
sage on the steamer Alice Brown, and
was bound for Mobile to look up gang
of Illicit distillerS that had been de-
frauding the poor government OF much
needed revenue for some time. There
were, perhaps, twenty through passen-
gers on the steamer, and having
nothing to do during the trip L took a
great deal Of interest in studying my
'shipmates,' as it were. The usual
coterie Of Mississippi gamblers was on
board. and they seemed to be reaping
quite harvest off the suckers,.of whom
the supply was unlimited. This kind
Of business was not only cOuntenanced
during those days, but looked upon as
an ordinary method OF amusement, and
always took place in the main cabin:
My attention was particularly attracted
TO TWO GAMBLERS,
who were not genuine SouthernerS, to
my mind, though, to be sure, they
dressed in the SLOUGH hat, black Prince
Albert coat, open vest, low collar and
flowing necktie. From the first L had
become suspicious of their actions, and
l. Il ,rli To thf.n
evening in the cabin my suspicious
young Southerner, who was on his way
home from trip through the West, and
had plenty of money. These two gam
blerS had their eyes on him and l
dropped to their game when they be-
gan to honey around him. The evening
mention they succeeded in drawing the
young man and a friend into game III
the cabin. The entire crowd of pasSen-
gers gathered around to watch the
game. | knew a great deal about the
paSteboardS myself and this and other
good reasons made me one of the spec
tatorS. At the first hand I|saw that the
young fellow was victim and was
playing against brace game They
of course allowed him to win at first,
but in few hours they skinned him of
about $1,000 and an equal amOuntln dla-
monds and jewelry. The young man
had lost all he had in the world, as he
remarked, when he quietly arose from
the table, but added:
Gentlemen, L have lost fairly and do
not propose to do anything RASH"
| was burniifsWith Indignation and
had decided to set down with the pre-
ci0uS couple and expose
THEIR IoRECJOITS SIGN
etc. When L was about to set in the
game, was quite astonished, together
with the rest, to see handsome young
lady step to the front and remark:
IL dispute the young mans remark,
that he has lost fairly. would like to
take hand there myself" She was
highly indignant and the gamblers
arose to their feet angrily at what they
termed All insult.
ooh, sit down." she said, ''this is
everybOdy's game"
They could do nothing else, and the
game began. The gamblers were wary
and for time played fairly. Finally
all the money was on the table and it
was twin or lose all' for somebody.
The spectators were GREATNESS with eX-
element, and the final hand was dealt.
The young victims partner dropped out
dllt VIC OliltI tllt6 Ntlc lclJ W uSlb III
out alone. The young lady was
white to the lips. She had
three kings, an ace and a
jack. The gambler next to her had
three queens, an ace and ten spot. He
deXterously signaled his partner that he
wanted another ace and the signal was
obeyed.' One gambler dropped out and
the betting of the other two ran high.
A confident smile appeared Oh the face
of the remaining shark and an equally
confident one Oh the face of the lady.
Finally he called her hand. She threw
down full, three kings and pair Of
aces, while he showed up his original
hand. Quick as a fash he
PULLED A REVOLVER,
but mine had covered him, and his
partner looked into the muzZle of an
other held by the lady.
you've cheated" gasped the loser.
"You lie" she replied, 1.-The card your
brother shark handed you dropped into
my hand instead of yours
"a wild cheer went up. The boat was
stopped and the two shame-faced SHARKS
put ashore with sundry kicks. The
lady restored the young mans money
and jewelry and it was rumored that a
marriage followed some time after. /
never found out who she was"
Nothing was heard save the soft purr
of the majors cat and the muffled SHORES
of the sleepers.