The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1896-11-11
WARNED THE GAME.
A GAMBLERS TIP TO A FARO DEALER
THAT He WAS "ON."

.I Walked rifty-three Miles Today" He
Said, "and Then L stumbied"-Ha Got
Back the $500 That He Had Lost. but .
.sucker" Understood and Quit.
II saw n funny thing In Chicago last
week." said New York business man.
II was in a gambling house-not very
elaborate establishment but place where
25 cent chips were the rule-when a good
looking man with keen black eyes took
the seat beside me at the faro table and
began betting on the high and low cards
1 always observe little things, and when
this man sat down / noticed that the deal
CT paid very little attention to him. None
of the attendants bowed to him either, and
/ gathered from this that, like myself, he
was stranger In the place Most of the
other players seemed to be known; that is
all but the man at my other side. He was
short, stout, red faced fellow, who kept
up rapid fire Of conversation all the time
he played. He seemed to have 1000 sys-
TENS, and he informed me that he rarely
lost at faro bank when the game was on
the level. When my keen eyed neighbor sat
down, the fat man was slightly bewildered
over the failure of his systems to work. He
was about 800 in the hole and didn't
seem to understand it, was some $50 be-
hind myself, but / wasn't at all worried
over 1t, for never gamble heavily and al
ways lose anyway.
We'll, the keen eyed man had varying
luck for half an hour. He played in a
cool, precise way, which told even inexpe-
rienced me that he was an old hand. When
he tired of playing the high and low, he
switched to the numbers and began COP
pering on the odd ones and playing the
evens to win. At the end of the half hour
he had lost at least $780, but he didn't
seem at all worried about 1t. The luck con-
tinued against him until his losses aggre-
gated $500. When the last Of 1t was hauled
in, he pulled SCI in bills from his pocket,
leaned little bit forward, and, placing it
on the high, said very quietly to the deal
er: That's my last bet tonight. / walked
90 miles today and then stumbled, so I'm
very tired. 2" Now to my mind, that was
the most innocent sort of a remark, but
my fat neighbor almost had fit over 1t.
He had laid a bet of $50 on card, but like
a flash nc seized Ii back and glued his eyes
on the box The high card turned up, the
quiet man rose from the table and started
away, while my fat neighbor leaned over
greatly excited and whispered in a husky
voice:
Watch him! Watch him.
81 watched and saw an attendant APP
proach the man. The latter seemed TO ex-
pect some one to come TO him, for despite
his assurance that he was going right
home, he stood in an off corner of the
room No one was paying the slightest at
tention TO him save my neighbor and my
self, and 1 wouldn't have even glanced
around but for the fact that my attention
had been directed his way.
"Well, the attendant was very obsequi-
Gus, and after a few words he escorted my
late neighbor to another end of the room.
where they met dapper looking little fell
low. There was some handshaking, and
then the three men went out of the room
together Well, sir, you never saw such a
mad man as my fat neighbor in your life.
The oaths he Kissed into my ear were
something awful 1 went to make bet,
and he stopped me. Get me out of here or
I'll bust, he said Then he gathered up
his chips and 1 gathered up mine, not hav-
ing the least idea why was doing 1t, and
after oashing them in we went away. Out
side in the street the pent up rage of my
companion broke loose In all It's fury
ga hundred dollars, a cool hundred,
he roared, and you, how much did you
drop
"'Only about $40, replied, but what's
| the use of making such fuss about it?'
Fussp he fairly shrieked Do you
think I'm making fuss over that S100f
That isn't It, but the idea of being done
cheated, makes me crazy.
My friend, / said, don't be foolish.
1 am satisfied that l lost my money in n
fair game. You mustn't yell murder every
| time you get the worst of IL In faro.
He looked at me for a moment in a
plying way All the rage was gone
"'You don't mean its' he asked
why of course, said.
"'Well, WELL we'll = was all he could say
for a moment. Then he turned to me
again. Tell me-, he said, did you hear
what the man on your left said, and did
! you watch him after he left the table, as
told you tor
Il replied that had, whereupon he in
dulged in some more well, wells, and
then explained his remarkable conduct as
| follows:
If you knew as much about gambling
| houses as L do you'd know that that was
a crooked game the moment that man
spoke. He was professional gambler,
| you see, and was stranger in the house
They didn't know him at all and went
right on with their crooked dealing He
was ION" in a moment, of course, but gam
blers never make a fuss. 1t wasn't his
business to inform you and me and that
fine array of other suckers around the ia
BILE that we were being done. All he want
ed was his own money. So he played on
until he had dropped his $500, then he
made that remark to let the dealer know
he was on, walked away and waited for
the invitation to see Mr. Blank He didn't
have TO wait long, as you yourself know.
and as he knew, too, when he quit the
game
"'That sounds very nice, said, but
may ask how such simple remark con-
veyed all that you say IL did to the dealerS
II was rewarded with another look of
pity. Then my companion began to laugh.
He said he had walked 90 miles. He
meant by that that he was perfectly well
aware of the fact that there were SO cards
In the deck being used. Now when there
are 58 cards In a deck which is being used
for faro the odd card Is stop card. 1t will