The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-11-21

uniform to avoid capture at the hands of
the civil authorities.
Towsons unvarying success at IL Waco
tables finally enraged the proprietors of
the layouts to such an extent that all
except one of them closed up on him The
man who did not close up on him was
Luis PotozZo, as bad a half-Portuguese as
ever carried a bowie in his boot. Potozzo
had been hit SO hard by Towson that he
kept his tables open to the soldier in the
hope of getting back some of the money.
His hope was in vain for ToWson went
right on winning, Finally, in despera ton,
Potozzo suggested one Sunday afternoon
to Towson that they play a two-handed
play of draw Potozzo was an expert
crooked draw player and he thought to
retrieve his losses in this way.
I'm go you" said Towson.
In the presence of couple of soldiers
and a couple of hangers-on of II Waco
Towson and Potozzo sat down to the game
in the one-roomed shack where the gam
bier lived. Potozzo won at first, and his
beady eyes cleaned with the anticipation
of not only getting back all his own brace
table losses, but of acquiring a lot of
the gold that Towson had taken from the
tables of other layouts. When he began
to lose he grew SO nervous that he start
ed to drink bad liquor in order to get a
hold on himself. Towson did not drink
a drop.
sometimes on his opponents bluffs, and
sometimes on his opponents genuine
hands-however, the hands were put to-
gether-and then Potozzo drank more, in
a fashion very uncharacteristico of gam
bier and the proprietor of brace tables.
Towson continued rgidly absteminous, ac
cording to his habit.
Along about o'clock in the evening,
after five hours play, Potozzo was out
about $1,000 and he was growing very
ugly and insulting. Towson took the gam
bler's insults calmly. and went on win
ming his money. All s o clock, when Po-
tozzo had only $500 left, he stayed in on
a deal of the soldiers. The ante had
grown to $25, so that Potozzoiha $475 still
in hand to bet He stood pat on a queen
high flush of diamonds. The soldier drew
one card to his two pairs, kings and tens,
and caught another ten. PotoZZo cast his
$40 into the center of the table with the
melodramatic flourish of drunkenness.
you blue man, you big gun man, you
dealer of cards queer you must now be
beat" he said, wildly Il call for a show
down, having no more money by me-"
He laid down his queen high flush of dia-
monds with a bang. Towson put down. one
by one, his ten fun letting both of his
hands rest on the money in the center of
the table and looking quietly, but very
determinedly, like man expecting trou-
bic. straight INTO Ine WIFI eyes OF lne man
across the table. Potozzo's face became
blood-red, and he was fumbling UNDER
meath the table. Suddenly, quick as
thought, there was a gleam of a knife in
the air, and Potozzo's knife came down,
aimed for Towsons right hand. But Tow
sons right hand was not there. Neither
was his left. Towson was standing at fun
length with a bowie i'm his right hand,
and he held it like q man who knew how
to use it. The Two men stood looking at
each other for a second, and the look
meant that the fight was to be Immediate
~ on. one of the four onlookers, a sol
der, quickly hauled the table to a corner
of the room, and the soldier and Potozzo,
leaping at each other in the center of the
shack, began the bowie fence, which both
appeared to understand thoroughly. Po-
tozzo was trifle the better of the two, but
he was Handicapped by his condition and
reeled at critical points. The men, both
leaning far forward with extended and up
raised knives, travelled around each other
with the caution of cats. lunging and dodg-
ing but never getting near enough for the
thrust FOR several minutes, both of them
painting heavily. once Potozzos knife
grazed the fingers of the soldiers knife
hand, but that was as near as he ever got
to his man. The four men looking on from
a corner of the shack took no part, tho two