Evening journal., 1891-02-12
AN EXCITING ESCAPE.

Everybody has "experiencesn more o
less interesting. had one in Cincinnati
in the winter Of 1878, which was sonlewha
out Of the usual order, and which will beai
telling had gone there from Michigor
with commendatory letters, which intro
dueed me to prominent steamboat owners
who were operating floating property Of
the Ohio, Mississippi and Tennessee rivers
With one Of these men / entered into 3
contract, by which was TO have fnan
cial interest in a steamboat then building
| and take the responsible position aboard Of
her as chief clerk.
| These southern steamboats-be it said ia
those who are familiar with steamboatina
/ on the great lakes-carry three and some
times four clerks, and the position OF chief
clerk is that Of cashier. In this position
he has to handle large sums of money. as
the boats in some trades advance consid-
cradle amounts of cash in the shape of
charges" on consignments of southern
produce-cotton, peanuts, tobacco, etc. !
mention these things TO show that the DO
sltlon was to assume was one in which a
dishonest man could misappropriate or
embezzle large sums of money, and that /,
being stranger was being taken largely
upon trust.
boarded at one of the downtown hotels
then, and while waiting for the boat to be
finished and 90 into commission had very
little 70 do, especially in the evening. One
evening l was sauntering along Fifth
street in company with the landlord of the
hotel and two Front street commission
merchants When near the corner of Race
street some one proposed going up flight
Of stairs and trying our luck at 'skeno, /"
explaining that nice quiet ten cent game
was going on there. "Keno" was certainly
harmless, so up we went. Part way up
the stairs we found closed door obstruct-
ing our passage; but word from our con
ductor whispered through the wicket
which opened at his rap, secured our en-
TRANCE.
Wa entered large room filled with ta-
bles, at which sat perhaps $50 people, all
intent on the cards in front of them, placing
the bits Of glass thereon as thecaller twirled
the goose and announced the numbers
drawn, did not know then, but learned
afterward, that this was one af the largest
gambling houses in Cincinnati, and that
on the floor above roared and clawed the
unclaimed tiger, and other animals equally
voracious, familiar to those who WOO Dame
Fortune for high favors. But the placing
Of bits Of glass on green and white squares
of pasteboard for an investment OF ten
cents with a chance to win SIS or $40,
seemed perfectly innocent and harmless.
So, though it was my first experience had
no hesitation in sitting down with mycom-
panions at an unoccupied table and taking
a hand in the game
We had only played two or three cards
during which time, by the way, none Of
our party "kcnoed"-when there was
great racket on the stairway, and picket
came rushing into the room with the warn
ing cry of
"Policei We're going to be pulledn
Well, il there ever was n scattering, a
grand transformation scene, it was then
and there It was sauve qui peutl Every
body went helter skelter, leaving cards.
money and everything else on the tables,
and, in fact, climbing over tables, over
turning them and making a headlong
push for the upper stairway,
The man who had been twirling the
"goose" dfsmounted it, and hustled it into
a large trunk handy by. The man who
was manipulating the tally board did like
wise. Then these two worthless joined the
procession upperstairward. Meantime the
battering at the stout door in the lower
stairway continued. / had joined the
throng going upward, thinking, of course,
that as the proprietors Of the gambling
house were sensible people, and as these
raids must be common things, the proprie-
tors aforesaid had suitable exits provided
for their patrons, and that we were even
now on our way toward one Of them.
Finally, after going up two flights of
stairs in the darkness-for the lights had
been .extinguished very soon after the alarm
the crowd came TO a standstil. Those
behind urged those in advance to 90 on.
But they replied that they couldn't; they
had come to the end. / squeezed along
into the crowd until was among those in
advance. Some one struck a match to see
where we were. 1t was cul de sac, a blind
passage. Il was indeed the end. We had
gone up TO the roof story. There might
have been a back entrance from the lower
or second stories Of which we could have
availed ourselves had we known enough
about the locality But those stories were
now in the possession of the police and
they would soon be here, when we would
be captured like rats in a trap.
Then, for the first time, dawned upon me
the extremely awkward not to say desper-
ate position in which | was placed.
knew that this was absolutely my first
visit 70 a gambling house; that had been
engaged in a comparatively harmless
little game Of keno at ten cents a card, at
which couldn't lose more than sl50 if
played all the evening, which did not in
tend to do. Then thought Of being taken
to the police station; Of perhaps having to
stay there all night. or having my new
friends and business associates-for whom
was soon TO occupy position OF SO much
financial trust and conidence-of havins
them read my name in the morning En-
quirer in the list Of those arrested in a no
torious gambling house raided BY the po
lice last night.
l thought Of their surprise, and imag
ined their remarks TO the effect that they
conldnt put a young man who was evi
IDENTIFY confirmed gambler in charge OF
such important interests as they proposed
Il was n good thing they had found me ont
before the thing had gone too far, and /
had heeced them out Of thousands OF dol
lars.
Horriblel ] must get out some way
There was window near where / stood.
opercd the lower sash and found that Il
looked out on square courtyard. By tho