The state capital., 1891-06-13

"You know nothing of me, Mr.. st.
john" she said, in astonishment. She
said a great deal more; so did I. The
interview ended by her telling me to
see as much of her pepper as possible,
and to try and 'get down his back" /
understood enough of the American
language to know what she meant.
Mr. Persimmon and 1 grew very
friendly. We saw good deal of each
| olher, and in the evening we went into
the smo1ing-room and we played at
poker When l say 1--WE" / mean that
did, for Mr.. Persimmon declared that
| he did not ''know enough about cards."
| confess that I played a little higher
than | could afford, with the idea of
dazzling Mr. Persimmon and SO Great
| ing a favorable impression, which is
what Parthenia meant by getting down
| his back.
If | had not been taken up with Par
ty, I might have discovered in time that
Col. Jabez Jackpotts, Senator Pat
| Straddle and Dr. Clapperton Fudge
were professional sharpers. On one
| fatal night they won fve-sixths of my
little fortune, exactly twenty-five thou
sand dollars. 1t happened this wise:
The game of poker stripped of it's de-
tails is very much like the old-fashioned
game of brag. AS played in the smoking
room of the Bithynia, the first player
''puts up. e., stakes a small sum;
those who decline to play throw down
their cards, and the next man to the
left exercises his option of raising"
the stake, or ''going better" This goes
| on ad infnitum till those who are
| betting against the first man decline to
stake more money; when the other
PLAYERS show their hands in succession,
and the highest hand wins everything,
unless the original player exhibits
higher one, or puts up a stake so
high that the others refuse to cover it,
in which case they ali pay to hiI31n h.ilI31nev, is
look as pleasant AS a77s cards. His hand
talSe,s. q fact, contain nothing; in which
table"
Now, the highest possible hand is
what is termed straight flush, or
flush sequence" to the ace-that is to
say, ace, king, queen, knave and ten of
one suit This hand it is impossible to
beat when it is held by the person who
makes the first stake; for even should
another player have the extraordinary
good luck to hold an equal hand, ties
pay.
The rules of the game of poker are
extremely strict. All money betted
has to be placed on the table-rubis sur
rongle, as the French have it.
Now l had a straight flush in spades
dealt to me; / was so astonished at my
great good fortune that my hand shook
as | ''planked down" my ten dollars,
and declared that l stood ''pat''-that
is to say, that I did not want to
better my hand by taking cards. There
were evidently a lot of big hands out,
for each of the six men playing, though |
it was plain that [ held a big hand or
was simply ''bluffing," increased the
stakes | put on another one hundred |
dollars when it came to my turn, for 1 |
knew that | must win. Then one of |
the players was frightened out, and the
stakes went on increasing until I had
three thousand dollars in front of me,
for each man went better'-that is to
say, increased his stake. Two of the
players caved in.
You can't bluff me, mister,'' re-
marked Col Jabez Jackpotts; "I'll
double the stakes" and he ''put up
the requisite amount in notes.
Fool that 1 was, / doubled him
again, partly because I knew that I
artlrr
dazzle Parthenia's pepper
But Col. Jackpotts raised" me again,
and so we went on till twenty-five
thousand dollars in American notes lay
IN front of each of us. 1t was five
sixths of my little fortune-five-sixths
IF all had in the world, and though I
knew that must win, gave sigh of
'elief as Col. Jackpotts quietly re- |
marked:
81 guess I'll see your swagger hand, ,
nister.' j
laid my flush sequence to the ace
lpon the table with a triumphant smile. I
"Thunderation,' cried Col Jackpotts {
Then he suddenly stretched out his
treat paw and spread the cards out. !
And 10! there were SIR cards-ace, king, s
queen, knave, ten of spades, and the
light of hearts.
II am sorry for you, mister" re- t
marked Col. Jabez Jackpotts, with a {
smile; ''that's a foul hand. |
land over them chips t
/ had lost.
How it happened could not tell I
1T must have occurred in the dealing" q
thought. @
! appealed to the bystanders; 1 of v
cred to refer the matter to a we'll L
nown American diplomatist, who was C
ooking on. O
You have lost" he said, calmly; f
you should have examined your cards Fl
lore carefully. The laws of poker, p
Ike those of the Medes and Persians, f
lter not. Il