The National tribune., 1890-05-08

/ IL. ] suggested whist, hut as the lady could
! not play this, euchre was substituted. The
| form i'm which the temptation to gamble was
/ TO present itself 10 me soon became apparent.
! Ii was an old, old trick. and amused me rs
! contemplated the denoument. In short time
Charlie remarked to George -: "By Jove
have not forgiven you for that bufIing hand
you held against me last night; if | had had
this one / could have made you take water"
Don't be too sure" said George" contem-
pativcly. aud then briskly, "T'l bet five dol
lars III beat You now" well, my hand is
worth ten more than that" said " Charlie, and
the reply. All right I'll call you," elected
from ihe innocent at my side the remark:
Now, do not commence that; you know how
hate gambling" Hands were shown and
George lost and paid promptly from n large
roll ofbils carried in the fob pocket of his vest
Soon the hands dealt me began 10 exhibit sin
gular Phenomena. Two pairs" "threes,"
Pushes. and fulls" were not rare, and fol-
lowed each other in rapid succession. The
scruples Of Madam at last were so far overcome
as 10 permit her 10 wager and win two whole
pounds OF caramels with three tens only.
Ny hands were still improving, and in q
short time had risen 10 the dignity Of fonr
knayes gentle pressure from Madam's tiny
foot against miue-she had accidently seen my
haDd-added its persuasive eioqueuce 90 the
brusque advice OF the men of the party to risk
p'sANtntiE ihtAllE NtuANEtta uOAHiNE EAlHtt.
Several attempts were made TO induce me To
bet, but all were unsuccessful, and perceived
that Charles" interest in me was tagging
somewhat, and soon the end came II was IN
this way: George" made a large bet which
was raised as much again by Charlie" the
fair one passing out" seemed greatly inter
ested in my hand, which. before / SAW IL. felt
sure must be an imposing one. picked il up
and carefully scanned IT, and, as the lady
caught hasty glimpse at it she became almost
excited, and again urged me, in her unique
way, 10 make "A bet. i looked at 10 hestatingly
until George" almost lost his patience and
politeness. and said: why, what in the world
IS the reason you do not bet; do you never get
good handY' The train was just stopping at
a watering station. ana many of the occupants
Of the car. attracted by the jollity of the party
had crowded near our table. Among them /
had frequently noticed the sleeping car con
ductor who seemed 10 be taking an unusual
interest ia our game IL seemed TO me % he
good time 10 put an end 90 the farce and re-
piled to " Georges" question, with much delib-
Grafton, " Yes, indeed; You have been kind TO
me IN that respect even generous. have had
some splendid bands, have one now, the best
one, except one other in the deck confess to
you that mere trifie prevents re from betting
heavily on IL, and that is you have the one that
will beat IT," ] spread on the table where all
could see, the four kings, and added pointing
70 him, " You have the four aces"
Ia moment the party except me, had risen;
the cards were cleared away, and the porter
was called 10 remove the table The spectators
were all laughing The friendly light disap-
peared from the fine eyes / had admired
Even her politeness could not stand this test
She looked acrid. ! tried to soothe her
said, Ny dear Madam shonld not permit anger
toward herself" ] assured her that her part
bad been beautifully played throughout. She
had procured the bird, but those who were 10
do the plucking had failed through indeicacy
Of manipulation and the chestuutty flavor of
the game. ! added, You will not deny that
you have admired me since the moment we first
met, and now that / still have all my feathers
untouched why should you permit yours 70 be so
rufiied = The answer was a scowl, which was
not pretty, and low kissing through her pearly
teeth which sounded awfully like mild pro-
family, but hoped / WAS mistaken
A moved away ] encountered "Gcorge,"
and ] said TO him, by the way, will give
you Sl0if you will frankly tell me what there
j. about my appearance that induced you 10
pick me up for a fat. The information will be
worth that to me" He was not, however, In
conversational mood. or had constitutional
objections 10 earning money honestly. His
silence was oppressive, and his temper was not
improved by the audible smiles Of tho by
ISLANDERS. ] went forward TO my own seat in
the next car not over pleased with myself. on
account OF my association with these Tascals |
was not IN the most ccstatic frame Of mind
when the sleepiug-car conductor approached
me with broad smile on his face and the re.
mark, Well, that j. the best thing / ever saw
done on this road except one.' lie stated. fur
ther, how much be had been surprised when
be- had seen me join this party, aud how he won
dercd If ] was going b be taken in aud done
for; as ] certainly had not looked 10 him like
man who could be imposed on by such people.
] asked bin II he bad ever seen them before.
and he said they Travelled regularly every
week or -, over the road aud played this game
continually on strangers. When / reflected
that this man Was tho regular agent Of a
wealthy and powerful corporation. drawing it's
immense wealth from the travelling public:
that that public WAS entitled 10 its projections
aud that the protection had not been afforded
in this case by this agent, my Indignation was
very great. ! soundly berated him and said
that ] regarded him as 40 better than the
thieves, and as far as appearances went they
favored the conviction that he had an interest
in protecting them, instead Of his honest pas
sengcrs. He was evidently much surprised at
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al took Cold