The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-04-15
WISE BANK KNOWS ITS owy
CHIPS


Hezekiah Keets and Abraham Lin
coin Links belonged to the first colored
society of New Orleans. Their oceu-
Pations as trusted servants in Masous
big gambling house made them the
leaders in the Four-Eleven-Forty-
Hundred of the city. AS men
skilled in high finance they were
intrusted with the responsible Office
Of taking up the pennies on Sundays
in the most exclusive African church
in town.
Mr.. Keets was ambitious. Mr. Links
only needed a hint to adopt the same
virtue.
ABE" said the former. Tets start
a establishment o. our own.
"G'long. Zeke," retorted A. L. L.
''How's We gwine ter buck 'gainst de
boss?"
Amt no bucl1in' 'gainst him. We
No white pusson can get in. Heaps o
money in it,
Wars yo' gwine git yo' layout?"
Reckon OATS easy. On'y have faro
in our STA blishment Boss done glib
me dozen pack ole cards
But war yo' gwine git yo' chips?
Dey cost mighty sight, dem worries.
fell into a brown, a blackish brown,
study. He thought ponderously.
Presently his face was a sunburst-
"Gloryl Use got itr' he screamed in
delight. 1--WE buy dose big peppermint
drops-big as quartah dollah. Dey'H
do. Can't tell 'em from the reg lar
chips"
So the gaming house of Keets 6
Links was founded. Prosperity smiled
upon the firm The cellar in Duprez
street became the Mecca of darby
dom.
One Sunday night in February the
place was crowded. The company
Golfers was damned with flood Of
coppers 1t was a big winning night.
Toward midnight a fat black gentle
man from New York, a stranger, en-
tered the cellar and took place at
the table. Mr. Links was dealing the
cards. Mr.. Keets, spying around be-
hind the crowd, wis much impressed
by the newcomer. and kept winking at
his partner and pointing his thumb
coward the stranger.
Obedient to Mr.. Keets' suggestion
the dealer dealt particularly inconven-
lent cards to the man from New York.
The latter, however, soon doomed up as
a mystery. He had bought sixteen
cents worth of chips to begin with;
had lost nine times steady running;
yet ,the stack of peppermints In front
of him grew taller and bulkier.
And Abraham Lincoln kept on deal
ing out ting cards to the
fat stranger.
Messrs. Keets and Links looked at
each other in dismay. The latter so
lost control of his wits that the cards
came out as they liked, and the man
from New York won his first mana OF
the evening. He had bet two chips on
It. In a flash his pile was augmented
by more peppermints than were IN
the bank when it opened play that
evening. The circumstance seemed
singular to Hezekiah Keets.
But A. Lincoln Links went on deal
ing.
Leaning against door, Mr.. Kee.s
plunged into q profound pool or
Thought. He remained there for quite
two minutes and then he emerged
wAth a look of intense astUteness on
his countenance.
He moved slowly behind the players
until he was directly back OF the New
Workers. chair. Then he closed ms
ewes and set his nose in motion. Ihe
organ proved an alert detective.
Hezekiah had triumpeh.
"Gemmen," he shrieked, humping
the table violently.
The players looked at him in amaze
ment. - ..rI
"Gemmen," continued Mr.. hee1s'
strongly 'spicion there are mis-
hon'bIe pusson 'mong US. This yer
bank knows its own chips. This yerI
banks chips is all one favor, and,
gemmen," in voice of great soIen-
nifty. 'I clare to God dar's sassatraS
in this Yankee nigger's pile.
The stout party from New YORK ieIe
the cellar impetuously. NOBODY 1oi-
lowed him, for his abandoned property
was worth more ITO the assembled
company than the evanescent delights
of a razor scrap.