Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1890-08-30
THE SHELL GAM r..
"Just Guess Where the Little Green Pea
Is, Gentlemrn.'

"Just Guess Where the Little Green Pea
Is, Gentlemrn."
Familiar to every one who has ever
visit 1t the race track or attended a
country fair is the shell game. The out
than almost any other outfit known to
the art of gambling There is Il little
table about II foot square set Oh three
legs. The legs fold up into Il cane, aud
the top of the table, being of cloth ON a
little frame, rolls up into small cylin-
Ier like black ruler
When the police come, and they are
always coming when the games are III
progress, presto! the top of the table
vanishes into an inside pocket and the
legs go off in the shape of Il walking
stick.
The rest of the outfit consists of three
empty walnut shells, or rather three
half shells, and what looks like a green
pea, but which is really little green
cube.
The game consists of Juggling the pea
under the shells and guessing under
which shell it is. The Juggling looks
man would swear he could tell under
which shell the pea is after the jug
Cling is over. In fact, the shrewd Jug
gler does his work in such a way that
the eye can easily follow the pea and
thus convince the beholder that he
knows where to place his money.
But there is trick. 1t comes in ust
after the man has made up his mind that
ne knows where the pea is and is reach
jng for his money. Quick as a flash the
fakir changes the position of two of the
shells.
When the man who knows where the
pea is looks up he sees the shells in APP
parently just the same position they
were before, and he anteS his cash, and
with look of eager triumph indicates
the chosen she'll The juggler lifts it
is-nothing.
Angry, hot, and excited at being beaten,
he bets again and again, wins once or
twice, but finally loses all and goes away
lisgusted. Some,irnes he catches on"
to the trick and be ,ins a regular run on
The table. Here the juggler's confeder
ate comes to the front, and when the
sharp man bets s. he bets $50. If the
sharp man goes SO he raises $2O, till he
crowds him out of the game, very much
after the manner of tie bluff in draw
poker. New York World.
How She Brought Him Around.
Softly shone the subdued light of the
solitary gas jet in the parlor of the Bill
llerback mansion on the avenue, and
soft was the voice of the abashed young
Erasmus Shackelford, who sat on the
edge of his chair, mopped his heated
face, and smiled with kind of papier
mache smile at the enhancing young
woman in the dazzling aureole of whose
auburn hair he had tluttered in agoniz-
ing captivity for months and months
Mis- NioIa," he said, clearing his
throat and speaking with every infec-
ton of man about to say something,
you will not be surprised, presume, if
If l express the feeling, the-the
opinion, as it were, that-that it's pretty
hot this EVENING""
Erasmus gave his face another fren-
zied swipe W ith his handkerchief and
subsidized into palpitating silence.
mo, " replied Miss Viola, with smile
that brought large and ecstatic lump
Of something or other up into his throat
Il am not surprised, Mr.. Shackelford.
You made the same observation earlier
In the evening.
"Y-yes, he gasped. II believe l did.
lit was not an entirely new remark.
In fact, it was a kind of a-of chest
nut | suppose.
The agitated youth made another eff
fort to crush down the lump in his
throat.
"And II feel, Miss Bil-Viola, as if l
we're "a kind of-of observation my
self that was getting tiresome. Haven't
been-been observed here little too
often? Do seem to be "a chestnut"
and as he moved his handkerchief over
MS glowing face in tremulous jabs, his
voice took on despairing sound-"a
sort of-of roasted chestnut"
No, Erasmus, slowly answered the
maiden. when chestnut is roasted it
pops
The conscientious historian is bound to
record the fact that at this point Eras-
mus Immediately popped. - [Chicago
Tribune.