The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-03-21

poker game. and testimony and hymn
singing and exhorting went along like
a continuous performance, only there
was noticeable absence of men from
the proceedings until Preacher Pellet
came on the scene. He was very tall
and very thin, and as a. pale as if he
had lived all his life in a cellar. He
had a decent open sort of way Of
giving you the glad hand when he met
you near the general store in the morn
ing that made the men rather like
what little they saw of him. The
women folks had got to be rather tired
of home talent at their meetings, and
the way he managed to rouse them
and put new life into their gatherings
was wonderful. They began to beg us
to go just over and hear him. saving
that If we would only put in an appear,
ance he would do the rest but of course.
we were too busy trying to get hold Of
the $500. Then he sent US messages
asking US to come to the platform lust
for one Sunday, and even went so far
as to print handful with a varnish
| brush and tack it up on the general
store wagon. We couldn't help admir-
ing his grit and the way he stuck C,
trying every way to get US, but nobody
paid any attention, and we thought
he would give it up for a bad job
But he didn't. One night, after the
meeting was over, he dropped in at the
! poker game. and, without saying any
thing, pulled out a handful Of coin and
sat down at the table
If there's anything on earth more
unpopular down in Arkansas than a.
man from Missouri it's a hypocrite
and the thought passed around the
/ table like an electric shock to get hold
Preacher md
him to a suit of tar and feathers and
/ give him a ride out of the town on a
| thorn apple rail after. the game was
/ over. The $500 happened to be about
/ evenly divided when he sat down. and
Z we made jack pot in his honor No
/ body opened it until the deal came
round to him. He took the cards
| have seen magicians do tricks with
/ cards over and over again. but never
! before or after saw anything that
! could begin to touch that preacher
! Every one of the fifty-twO- cards
seemed to recognize him. and know
| him, and find an old friend in him the
| very moment he placed his hands on
the deck. The way they siZZled and
whistled and tapped and spun and
! darted in and out under those long
| pale fingers of his was enough to make
a man dizzy. You may be very sure
that his neighbor on the right gave
/ J0eS6 carOS a SOOQ, deep careIul cut
! before passing them back to the
preacher, who picked them up again
with a sort of an electric jerk and be-
gan to deal them so fast they seemed
to fly off the pack of their own accord
! The eyes Of a Navajo scout couldn' t
have seen whether they came from the
top, bottom or middle as they landed
! in front of each man at the table.
There were flush of diamonds a
| flush of spades, a flush of hearts and a
| flush of clubs at the finish, and the
! men who held these of course, stood
pat. The fifth Arkansas man had
Only two pair, but on drawing one
card made his full The preacher also
drew one card and soon after the pot
| had been opened by the man with the
| diamond flush all the 5000 of the home
1 circle were in the center of the pine
| board. At the showdown the preacher
produced four aces, rolled up and pock-
eted the money, and, as nobody pro-
| dueed any more, rose from the table
and walked away.
ut wasn't in the least necessary for
| him to ask the men to be on hand at
| the religious exercises the next day
| and the chances are that he knew it,
| The sudden appearance of railroad en-
| gineers or of 3, locomotive at full speed
| couldn't have kept a single man in the
| directory away from the ceremony
| which had done such faithful service.
were going to be at the meeting, and.
| although they were in the preachers