The Saint Paul globe., 1897-03-08
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: Poker for High Stakes. 5
- A Bout Sharps Mississippi River y

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was made $40 and the bet was often
$50 but still there was no contest be-
tween unusual hands. We all knew it
was coming, though, and ] noticed
that three or four of the men near me
were breathing hard. Flash Kate's'
eyes sparkled like a snake and her lips
were parted, but she was as silent as
we all We're. Even the players said
nothing outside of the few words the
game called for.
Suddenly l heard a sort Of gasp
from the man next me, and at the
same instant l saw the fellow they
called Keene hold out an ace 1t was
cleverly done, and yet l marVeled at
his nerve in trying such a trick under
so many watching eyes. He relied, of
course, on his skill, which was really
marvellous; but l had studied such
things too closely to be mistaken, and,
as for an instant | met the eye of the
man Who had gasped, 1 saw that he
was equally certain. Neither of US
was fool enough to say anything, for
interference meant fight, and 1 won
dered for a moment what would fol-
low, or if any Of the players had seen
it.
''It was the deal of the cattle dealer,
whose name was Downing, next, and
| them with a quick motion on the floor,
saying: Bring us a fresh deck, Mr..
| Clerk, Of another color 1t seemed
! certain that he had seen Keene's man
euVre, but if he had he gave no other
! lrdica ton Of it, but shuffied and dealt
| the cards as cOolly as if nothing out of
| the way had happened. Neither could
L see any traces Of chagrin or disap-
| pcintment on Keene's face as he was
| thus cleVerly checkmated. He looked
sharply at Downing for an instant, as
if to see whether he had really been
! discovered or not, but that worthy did
not return the glance, and the game
went on.
Soon after there was a jack pot that
went around several times before It
was opened, and Of course there was
considerable money up. Presently, on
the cotton factors deal AlcOtt, the
other professional gambler. opened it
for 500, and all the players came in
That made big money before the draw,
! and no one was likely to get away
with 1T without a struggle. The major
| drew one card, and, without waiting
! Tor further developments, threw his
hand into the discard pile. He knew
he wasn't strong enough to bluff that
crowd. Alcott drew three, and threw
another 800 into the pot Downing
!
down, while he threw in 500. Keene
also drew two and studied them care
! fully before seeing the pot. The cotton
factor drew three, and raised it $100
l could not see his.
"Alcott had three Of kind and
| raised back Downing carefully lifted
| one corner of one Of the cards he had
! drawn and lifted the pot 5000. Keene
studied while longer and finally
threw down his cards The cotton fac
tor was game and raised it $500 but
Alcott, without culver, came back at
MN with $1,000 more The battle was
on, and | looked curiOusly at Downing
L was more interested in his play than
in that Of either of the others, and il
was a real disappointment to see him
PICK up his whole hand, give a quick
glance, and throw it down The cotton
factor studied his hand again more, it
seemed to me, to gain time than to
make certain, and then began lingering
ms roll AT length he spoke a little
hesitatingly:
I haven't as much money here as
Ia like to have, but I'll see your 81 900
and"
If monsieur cares to back his hand
and will allow me, l viii put up any
amount he likes
1T was Flash Kate who interrupted
90 lt-and there was a general start Of
surprise. [ was looking at Alcott and
l was sure | saw a CLEAN of satisfac-
ton, totally unmiXed with surprise. on
MS face. The situation was getting
complicated. The cotton factor flushed,
Thank you he said coldly, with
out even looking around, but I never
play with borrowed money, and l never
borrow from a woman
Pardon me- said Flash Kate as
coolly as he, I hope there is no offense
monsieur. None was intended She
spoke with Yillainous affectation Of
a French accent.
None whatever said the cotton
factor, and he looked at his cares
again. He told me afterward that
when the woman spoke it flashed uDOn
MN that there was a conspiracy some
where, and that he didn't care to play
against it. Accordingly, he pretended
70 study a moment longer, and then
threw down his cards
"AlcOtt raked in the money without
a word, and the cotton factor putting
the remains of his roll in his nOcl1ef
picked up his chips and left the table
saying politely as he arose: Excuse
ne, gentlemen, l think I have had
enough
There was a moments hush. The
four players looked around the spec-
tators, as if to see if any one cared 10
lake the vacant seat. but no one gave
sign, and presently Keene said:
Madame is interested in the game.
Perhaps she plays, and would like to
take a hand.
Yes, if there is no objection she
said readily, and looked from one u
another of the four at the table. Down
ms said nothing, but there was a grim
smile on his face. The Major looked
uncomfortable but he said nothing
either. and as AlcOtt said, Certainly
there can be no objection the woman
| took the seat and laid a handful or
money on the table in front of her.
From the moment she sat down
felt morally certain that it was a case
of three against one, for the major was
not much in evidence And | was
pretty confident that the man from
Texas was going to hold his own, as
indeed he did triumphantly For nearly
twenty minutes his play was a perfect
/ puzzle, and the trio got actually nerv-
GUS as he threw down hand after hand
that ordinarily he would have bet
heavily on. They stacked the cards. not
once, but half a dozen times, giving
him excellent cards, but he pretended
to have lost his nerve, and played nov
with seeming raShness, and now with
cowardice, but never risking anv con-
siderable amount, until he had them
ratified.
Then he PLAYED trick that was worthy
Of the great Hermann himself II was at
once the beldest and the neatest thing I
ever saw at q card table. and although l
thought | saw it done, 1 was not certain
about it till he told me of it after we had
become well acquainted. 1t was Keene's
deal and Downing's cut, and the latter.
watching, as he did every motion around