The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1897-01-07
HIS LAST POKER HAND
A Battle Royal and Exciting Episode
st tho Finish. r., '..'.

the other night in one Of those dow
town club rooms that are so quietly KEEP
40 to be entirely unknown to the polio
and the general public. The game prove
to be phenomenal.
The play was high. The party ha,
played together once q week for q lonI
time, snd the limit mao always been 8
at the beginning OF the evening, though
occasionally 1t bad gore as high ss tel
before morning. This particular night
however, the cards ran remarkably we'll
and by midnight the limit was ignored &
not forgotten. Two of the players hac
laid their pocketbook alongside theil
chips. They had not played so before,
but the milling fever had come on
them with the excitement Of good hands,
Que against another, until the friendly
contest had become struggle for blood.
Fours had been shown several times since
pidnight, and beaten once. While straig hi
hushes had twice won important money.
Deck after deck had been called for, and
tossed aside In turn after q few deals,
till the carpet wss strewn thickly with
the discarded pssteboards, but there was
no change in the remsrka BILE run OF the
cards. Pat fulls and fiushes showed in
oeal after deal. and the luck in the draw
was 30 extraordinary and so evenly dis
tributsd that they all grew cautious of
betting on any ordinary hand, and a
biuff bad not been tried for hour. Yet
no ono had offered q rsmsrk, though the
NIL htfs shAu IA
II each man feared to break the run by
mentioning 1t. At length the colonel
spoke.
"Tns devil himself is playing with his
picture books tonight, 1 think, he said,
with a short laugh as he lost two stacks
OF blues on q seven full"
II had been the DOCTORS deal, and he
looked up quickly. Gazing at the colonel.
he said:
1.-THE hands are ce rtainly remarkable. /
never saw so many big ones at one cit
ting" The words were simple, but there
was q curious tone, half of question, in
his voice. There had not been such ner-
vous tension on the party before, but they
were ell men of experience and had seen
trouble between friends resulting from
careless words on many different occs-
sions.
The colonel detected the tone and
answered quickly and gracefully:
"That's so, Doc, I've beaten some strong
hands myself tonight"
"A new pack, SAM" said the editor.
who was the next to deal. The impertur-
bable darky by the sidaboaId produced
one instantly, and the editor shufiied 1t
Then he offered Ii to the other
players in turn. They ell refused to touch
1t, and shutting the deck himself once
more, he laid Ii down for the cut and
begun to deal. 1t was little thing, but
30 far out Of the ordinary as to mark
the fact thst they were tercing now
with bare blades and from that on there
! strict observance of the punctilio of
The game.
One by one the cards fell in five SYM
netrfcal little piles, as perfect as Herr
mann could have made them. for the
'ditor was dsft with his fingers, but one
lfter another OF the players passed out
md jack pot was..msde. The big hands |
,ad failed to appear.
IL was the Congressman's deal, and be |
doubled his ante and took the. cards. The
'olonel sat next and pushed out four blue |
hips, S2U. The Others oil came in, the
making good and dealing
without q word. There was ,sl0o in the
'ot, and there came that curious certainty
4;
experienced players, that q mighty strug-
lie was at hand.
The colonel made q pretence OF looking
t his hand, bnt In reality looked only at
be first two cards. They were both aces.
is passed.
ush and pair of tens so he passed.
The doctor was next player. He held a
at straight, king high. He opened tho
OF for s2O.
The editor came In on three deuces, and
be congressman with pair of queens
ut up his money. The others came
y promptly. The colonel, having first
III, looked over his hand carefully. The
st card was an ace also, and he called
,r one, holding up a seven. The four
esrts in the lawyers hand wore the
ueen, ten, nine and eight. He promptly
the other ten. and drsw.one card
he doctor, OF course, STOOD pat. and the
iitor drew two. The congressman slso
rev to the strength of his hand.
With ell the players in, tho doctor felt
'at Q straight was q doub ubtful hand, but
} put up $40 and waited. Ihe editor
oked anxiously for the fourth deuce,
Ut, fnding neither that nor pair, laid
>wn his cards.
Three skies had fallen to the congress-
ans queens and he raised 1t $40. There !
,on they ell looked keenly at the coll I
'el. Not muscle moved Ia hi, stern, I
Indsome face, 40 he saw the raise, and | \
snt $50 better. n
IL was 500 for the lawyer to come In. [
D simply made good. and loked anxious 4
to see II there would be another raise. v
,ey criticised his play efterward. claim. | I,