The Big Stone Gap post. [volume] (Big Stone Gap, Wise County, Va.) 1892-1928, 1893-08-24
NO. SO.
NEARLY A MN.
70 YVES Ills long Odds iaarsc. Dat There
Was n Slip Altar All.

70 Yves His 2.0nS Odds iaafac. Dnt Thef@
Was Slip Altar All.
Que hears some very odd stories OF
gamblers experience in pool rooras
where men between races while away
time by making confdants OF Strangers
for racing, like politics, ukakes straag"
bed fellows
Most of these "reminiscences are about
the narrator's i'll luck.
have heard good many sucl, Won
derful tales off and ou. but the saddese
of all was related to mo in Fourteenth
street commission room" by seedy
looking man, with frightened lools
about his eyes. as il he had played
Ave hundred to one shot with his last
dollar.
"I've had good many hard turns in
this line" he said. Dead sure things
gone wrong! Copper fastened cinches
left at the post. And all that sort OF
demoralizing business. but an expert
ence had in Chicago few years ago
beat all else hollow i'll a long and, by
no means, uninteresting career Of play
ing horses.
III was dC tItc tsIllC NHCA N~AN'0
races were more in vogue than they are
now. was in one OF the pool rooms
out there one terribly stormy day aud
had been play.ng in the very worst
kind of luck. Every horse l bet on
seemed to get beaten by neck, nose
or eve lash When entered tho place
I had good big roll of bills and fels
Of tyinnar
As lost kept up my courage. saying.
Your turn must come, old man, SO keep
stiff upper lip.
Accordingly the more lost on one
race the harler plunged on the next
I couldn't keep up with the procession,
however, and when the race fifth had
been finished found myself with only
twenty dollars left out of some hundreds.
"The sixth was hurdle race with
thirteen starters How we'll I rems.m'
Der that thirteen. l ut once became
superstitious I shall play the thir-
tccnth horse said, no matter what
odds there arc against it.
when looked at the blackboard
my resolution nearly left rue, fo' to
nv dismny, found that the brute was
the extreme outsider. There was fifty
to one against him. hcsitatcd some
little time while handled those twen'
ty dollars the only money Ind in this
cruel, wild world and not one friend in
it's vast extent upon whom / could call
for pccuniary hid in case OF going broke.
"Should play that old plug, and il
did should venture my little allP
Luck was dead ngin mo. fully
realized that hadn't picked single
winner In the whole card.
"What should do? Would the odds
go down to indicate that some one else
was backing the horse? Some fool like
myself, fascinated 10y the size OF the
prize in the event of success. I want
ed some company in my misery
didn't cure who he was or what he was.
or If there was only one in the whole
crowd who would take the risk.
al waited in vain. l stood alone in
my folly. The odds went up sixty to
; one Every other horse Of the thirteen
had some backing; mine had absolutely
nonc.
lowell, here goes said in despcrn-
ton at last, and planks down my TWEEN
tv dollars AS the boolSmaker said
twelve hundred dollars to twenty dol
lars he looked at me rs If wore m
escaped lunatic and laughed.
II felt angry enough to knock him
down, but at that moment the telc-
graph ticker began to click and the
cry They're off" was heard.
II nerd not tell yon what jackass
considered myself lust then nor what
pictures of har,.alIipH iloatcd through
my mind as raw my last dollar gonc
on such FOOLS selection.
ut was only desperate mans inter.
est that took III the racc. l felt
couldn't possibly win--fclt it, sir, in
every particular bone i'll my body.
The muddy track made ithard work
for the horses to keep their footing. and
/ was not at all surprised. as the de-
scription of the race was called off, to
hear of one horse after another taking
a tumble The only thing that kept mo
wondering was how my Old dub wasn't
among the number on his back in the
mud
What was my aatonishment when
the stretch WIS reached to hear that OF
the four horsrs that remained on their
feet mine WAS one.
Would win after all? tried to
Danish such foolish thoughts, but OF
course couldn't Another horse went
Ia front of the last hurdle, tho pool
room man next called out:
''Great Scott! two more had fallen
Which? A moment of agonizing sus-
pense, md thcn-well, sir, pardon my
emotion. Even ut this day" tho
stranger said. trembling. II can not
think of i. without getting excited"
Your horse. of course. was one OF
the two which had goue down this
time" intcrposed
mo, sir, slapping his knee with
great whack. ''lic alone remained on
his fore legs-he won. sir"
"And you had broken your bad luck,
SO you stepped up and go. your money.
and blessed the number thirteen" said
I. anticipating him.
mo. SIR" he explained, getting "a
angry as he had been excited before
"They wouldn't pay the money. sir;
said that the rules of their blamed
i house were to the effect that two horses
must be standing up at the finish or this
bets didn't go. They condescended to
give me my twenty dollars back, but l
| couldn't, by arguments or threats get