The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1892-01-05
GAME WITH-A CORPSE.
Ghastly Play With "a Murdered
Man on o Steamboat. v
STABBED CLEAN TO THE HEART.
BY the Assassln's Knife, tho phcnom.
cnon Of i.igor alortis Sets In..-Tho
Rigid Hand Holds the Cards and
the Grim Play Goes on....A Terrible
I,calizntion.

Chicago 7imcs. s6
Judge NVinge looked up from tho
hand OF cards TINT hc was arranging.
memphis, is it?" he said, rs VIC came
to the west bank Of tho Mississippi and
saw the city OH the opposite shore. II
haven't been there for thirty years, and
j wonder how many who live there now
would remember the curious affair that
happened Mt the timo | made my last
trip E,E + ,3
The judge was interested in iron, and
In young men. A few days before he
had spoken to me, his secretary, in
kaEsas City, where no lived, asking me
II WANTED TO take short trip with
him, and, after receiving my assurance
that ! did, he finished by telling me to
got u couple OF young men (he insisted
OH the "young" and to join him ut his
expense on an excursion TO Birlning-
nam, where.he was gnxious to attend
tho exhibition. You may be suro l had
no difficulty in following his orders. A
young physiciaa and u reporter, my
two most intimate friends, filed tho re-
quiro,nents exactly, and we were now
this iur on our way, having hcguilcd
our time with whist according to Poole
over since leaving Kansas City.
Ofcourse We werc compelled bypolitc-
ness to ask to judge tho nature OF that
curious incident, and rs he always told
q story il he had chance he seized the
opportunity aud began: Z
mississippi river gamblers and
gambling, notorious rs they were for Il
number OF years, were never eSagger-
ntcd, while i'll fact thousands OF stories
might be told about them that have
never found their wayinto print oreven
into slight circulation.
Is My law business atthe time OF which
lspeak oil made it necessary for me to
do great deal OF travelling up and down
the river, and l became very familiar
with tho best-l;nowE gamblers and
steamers which they most frcquented.
Smoky City was my iavoritc steamer
and 10 Bricc my favorite gambler. Play
with him? We'll. no! He did not have
time 10 bother with such little amounts
as could lave raised for him, but
used to sit and watch him for hours,
until aftern dozen trips on that boat
Ihad learned Just how he won all his
money, and except for lack OF practice
could have cheated just rs well as he
did. Play fair? Why, none OF them
played fair, except when they were
with those sharp enough to catch
them cheating, and they usually lodged
that kind.
"The first mate oiatho Smoky City
was tho worst card player l ever saw
He ought to have known that Bricc was
cheating him, but he couldn't see it; SO
on he played. trip after trip, continu-
ally losing, yet keeping at it, believing
that luck would change some day, and
as he had IN interest in the boat he
could afford to lose a good deal.
r SWELL, we reached Memphis about 8
o'clock one night on our up trip, and as
we had been on the boat good while
and had to wait there three or four
hours for some papers the captainwant-
ed every one went uptown to get rested
ana tc sec something. The mate staid
TO take care OF the boat, and 10 Bricc
agreed to keep him company, saying
that the alluremcnts OF Memphis had
no charm for him.
"sAs soon us all tho others had leit the
boat, Brice and the mate went down to
thee cabin oil the latter for their usual
game OF poker. They sat down opposite
one anothcr.at small rough table, and
the play began, light at first, and then
heavier. Graham, the mate, lost money
rapidly, and at the same time began to
lose his temper. Perhaps this made
Brice more confident than usual, but
whatever the reason he became more
careless and open in his deception. At
length in very bold way he attempted
to deal cards from the bottom OF the
deck, and was at once detected by his
opponent. The latter accused him OF
cheating, denial and the lie passed,
and before the mate could rise from his
scat Brice hail drawn q knife, reached
across hetable, and stabbed him to the
heart.
and now comes the strange part of
the story.
"Of course death followed instantanc-
ously, but instead OF the corpse falling
from the chair, there came that curious
phenomenon of instant stilIening Of the
dead body known as what is it, doctor,
any way?" I,
"Rigor mortis,' was the reply % the
Interested physician.
"Oh, yes. Well, $,'risor mortis &C.
Cured Immediately, and left the body
absolutely rigid in its former position.
the knife sticking in its breast, elbows
resting on tho table, tho five cards
clutched in the hand, and the eyes fixed
intently on the table where several
thousands OF dollars, in stakes were
lying. !. =
on may imagine that the gambler
was terribly startled Tor an instant, but
he soon recovered his nerve, and after
n moment picked up his cards and
looked across the table, where the other
still sat. I'll not be cheated out OF
this money now he cried withun oath.
Il have worked. too hard for it, and I'll
not give it up. But, he cried, in a
spirit OF bravado, i am not afraid OF
anything living or dead, so we may Just
as well finish this hand-anl III give
you 4 fair chance to win it, tool he
added with 4 laugh. n &
y"He then leaned over the table,
looked at The hand held by the dead
man, and discarded from them tho val
uelcss odes, replacing them by others
from the deck. He did the same with
his own cards, as ispropcrin the Amer
lean game Of draw poker, and then, as
all the money was on the table, there
was mo betting ITO be done, and he
placed his cards at one side, laying
those oil the dead man with. thn1nl s..s9.astNS