The Mena weekly star., 1896-09-16


 gressnan making good and dealing without
 q word. There $l00 in the pot, and
 there came that curious certainty to all of
 them which sometimes comes to experi-
 enced players, that mighty struggle was
 at hand.
 The colonel made a pretense of looking
 at his hand, but in reality only looked at
 the first two cards. They were both aces.
 He passed.
 The lawyer sat next. He found four hush and pair of tens; so he passed.
 The doctor was next player. He held a pat straight, king high. He opened the pot for $20
 The editor came in on three deuces. and ' the congressman with a pair of queens put up his money. The others came up
 The colonel, having first call. looked over his hand carefully. The last card was an ace also, and he called for one, holding up seven. The four hearts in the law yers hand were the queen, ten, nine and eight. He promptly discarded the other ten, and drew one card. The doctor. of course: t stood pat, and the editor drew two. The congressman also drew to the strength of his hand.
 With all the players in the doctor felt that straight was a doubtful hand, but he put up S20 and waited.
 Three sixes had fallen to the congress- mans queens, and he raised 1t SEQ There upon they all looked keenly at the colonel Not a muscle moved in his stern, hand so some face as he saw the raise and went
 It was Sso for the lawyer to come in. He simply made good, and looked anxiously to see if there would be another raise. They. criticised his play afterward, claim he defended 1t by saying that there were two players yet 10 hear from. The first of these resigned. A king straight was man was still confident of his full hand however, for he had drawn three sizes and he came back at the colonel with $50 more.
 Beginning of the Duel.
 The colonel raised him a hundred. It looked as if 1t would be duel between him and the congressman, but the lawyer was still to hear from. He raised it a | hundred. The colonel made good and the l colonel raised again.
 The lawyer counted his chips carefully. and, finding the exact amount, covered the ! last raise. Then, opening his pocketbook, | he drew out q S100 bill and pushed that to l the middle of the table.
 Once more the congressman made go,d | and the lawyer raised it a hundred The | lawyer came back and the congressman | dropped out.
 The colonel raised it a hundred. The law yer made it another, and there was over g, 800 on the table.
 The colonel looked as calm as if on pa- rade and the lawyers only sign of aeffa- ton was his heightened color. None of them thought much of that, for he was of The colonel raised 1t a hundred. The law yer fumbled his poeketbook. for a moment, It two hundred The colonel raised it five hundred The lawyer came back at him l With HVe hundred more. The colonel raised l t a thousand. The lawyer Tipped up the ends of the bills he was holding in his hand, and, counting them rapidly found d | little over 1000. Separating the odd money ne extended his hand with the twenty cen- uries in it and was in the act of speaking. when he checked himself as suddenly as if le had been shot
 'I raise" he began, and then was truck dumb. The bills were still in his yrasp and, instead of laying them down. le sat for a moment as rigid as a statue l while his face grew white.
 The silence was intense. The colonel l vas the only one in the party who showed l 10 excitement. but the lawyer, who had 1 watched him up to that moment with the 1 most acute scrutiny, no longer looked at i'm at all. Instead, he slowly withdrew , lis hand, picked up his cards, which he , ad laid. face down, before him, and looked 1 hem over again. What Is that for?" thought the editor. He is not looking to see what he holds ] { Ie knows perfectly well. And he hasn't cen bluffng. What stopped him, I won err" No one spoke, however and the lawyer , lid his cards down again and looked once lore into his pocketbook. ''Aha!" thought the editor Its the 1 mount that staggers him. That's queer DO. I've seen. him play higher than this hn 10 | :