The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1897-06-02

Sheedy, George Morgan, ana other kings
of the green cloth. The devil must nave
blel on my trail when bought my tichop
for New York, for Drtter here knows
tnat "a connie of chums from the old min
log camp drifted across my path that uay'
They were not turning up WITH money
lut bought wine just as though they were
wine AGENTS. and / travelled with EN- all
DAY and that night we landed IN nigh
tonei, nigh limit faro game. dociineu
To play. NV friends went Droke, bouii VI
'enl. / staked 'em again anu again anu,
bless INV soul, the first thing l knew
had whipped out that belt with All my
available cash in IL ana was letting those
busted mining sharps play my money
away like drunken sailors The wine
couldn't have been cold enough, or as
intimated. the devil was on my traii.
Why. the first thing l knew had told tho
proprietor I'd make good Tor anything
the cusses lost. lt may surprise you gen
tlemen To learn tnat man OF my years
couId have been such monumental ass,
but pretty soon, that is along toward
morning, while / was playing draw wlth
tho proprietor, Drifter here and couple
OF cattlemen, the lookout came 10 me ana
whispered: ~
your friends off, One Is at one table ;
he's over 5000 in the hole, and the old
guy has got markers up for over SluuOO
and has got another $1,000 stack OF chips
on your say so.
well, didn't need any shower bath.
I turned TO the proprietor and said
Pm out on their play from this daal.
Tell me what they owe and I'll make
GOOD. II didn't take long. lie told me
what my friends from the mining camp
had done, and parted with just about
500 600 Of money i had dug, shaved,
fought for and frozen for during four
years
Z" This does me up good and brown,
| said to the proprietor, who, as Drifter
will tell you, was as square "a man as
ever stood behind faro layout or in
meetin' house, either He made his
liyinp at gambling, but IL was his rec
reation. too. He said, 60 me, 'Pshaw,
Col. Johnson you're not going down 10
Nav York TO let 'em know you went
broke in my place. on taking friends, tooy
What YOU got left in your rolly'
80 Twelve thousand dollars, between
me and another siege in the mines,
says /. ~ .,,.a. 40 .o,,
sav IN prtting IL up, win or lose, against
nv deal? I'll deal for you as long rs
YOU last, and the limit Ia OIL while you
play. You can either get back what your
friends dropped or you can go broke,
aud I'll stake you TO thousand or two
at that.
II didn't leave that room, not even
for n meal for over 40 hours, said the
Colonel. We attended strictly To busi.
ness, too. For at least dozen hours
could neither win nor lose that is. moth
ing of consequence. They fired my busted
mining friends off To their hotel, Drifter
here curled up on lounge, and the
square gambler ana yours truly kept up
our duel for thousands. When i began
TO lose i'm earnest / felt relieved. / could
imagine myself back again prospecting
among the boys, drinking mining camp
whisky, and, perhaps, never again get
ting even decent little belt full of
money put just the same felt goneness
when the case keeper said TO me:
Colonel, your markers foot up just
about $40 900.
"Whew!' ] said. We all took brace
and even Drifter woke up I'm near the
end of my string, | said
" Guess IN get your Pile, was the
comforting remark of my friend the pro-
prictor. Go you all you've got in sight
on the last turn
Sudden death suits me, replied.
| counted out my remaining bills and
laid them before the dealer. He called
the amount about $500. There wasn't
any loud talking on my part Drifter
lust breathed, that's all The turn was
made, the last turn on that deal, and L
won. We played. man against man,
amateur against professional, without
rest or complaint until, as toldiyou, forty
hours had ticked of on the gaming honse
clock. When we quit the proprietor, as
cheerful losar as 1 ever met, said:
f" Now, Colonel. you've got your roll
back again. The twenty thousand your
friends dropped and the twelve thousand
YOU came so damned near losing, and,
by all that's great (as he sized up the
chips, J you're n thousand odd ahead on
the game I'll match you Tor n bottle
of wine and call everything square, but
I'll never deal forty hours for another liv-
ing man. And let me tell you something,
he concluded. You'll never duplicate
this luck. Ii amt I'm the box Take my
advice. Sew that money up. Buy farm
somewhere and never play faro again as
long as you live. You hear me ~
And you haven't either, y exclaimed
Drifter with emphasis.
"No mor1 | have, assented Col. John
SON. "My second dose of anti-gam bling
medicine set me dead against faro. though
| enjoy looking Mt u game TO this day.
That forty hours duel for a small fortune
or IA return TO poverty was pretty severe
lesson.
"Now. Colonel, what IN earth hap
pened To eradicate the disease entirely"
asked the momber who had not spoken
"What happened? Oh, you want my
third cure. We'll, here goes. You see,
had shaken roulette; forsworn faro and
became staid member of society, but.
like the wise men OF the Senate, ] still
had "a weakness for quiet game OF draw
had just returned from trip across the
continent and stopped over in Rochester
60 visit an old maiden aunt who had been
good To me when | was n youngster.
know my way around ard | soon found a
cOngenal little club room run by a man
who knew my Teputation. lie, 10y the
way. one of the most agreeable men
ever met, had adopted gambling n a pro-
fcssion 10 punish himself and get square
with the world at the same time. He had
teen bank cashier in "a Massachusetts,
town. got TO gambling, used tho banks
money lost his job and his reputation,
and, as ne said, became honest and played
with his own money.
"Ono night this Rochester gambler for
some reason or other, warned me against
a couple of slick looking chaps who posed
as representatives of an English syndi
| cate. They were stopping az my hotel,
ard i'm some way-easv enough with
Wosterncrs you know-they had made my
| acquaintance and talked poker just lit
| tic bit My friend, the reformed bank
inshier as i always called him, advised