The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1897-06-19
! FOUR KINGS )
AND BRIDE +,
, Rawson Held TO the Kings and 4
Let the Bride Wait. \

REMEMBER" said the old set
tier, when, away back in the SOS,
a wedding was postponed on account of
u jackpot in which the prospective
bridegroom was deeply interested.
In those days poker was more COM
monty played at the state capital than
it is to-day, and there were some pretty
stiff games pulled off in the hotels and
star chambers around town when the
legislature was in session. One of the
hardest players with which the regulars
had to deal was young Jim Rawson, of
Egg Harbor. He ran a general mer-
Fchandise store down there, and was
mixed up in the oyster trade, so that he
always had money to burn as the boys
say nowadays.
"In the winter of "a Rawson came to
Trenton to help push a bill in which he
was interested through the legislature,
and one evening he got mixed up in a
game of poker in the United States hotel
with Sol Travers, Jerry Holcomb and
Dick Collins, three of the gamiest play
ers that ever drew cards. The game was
innocent enough when it started, but
along about three o'clock the next
morning it had assumed proportions
calculated to make an ordinary player
gasp when the bets were made. Raw
son was the youngest man at the table
and had probably played poker less than
any of the others, but he had money
and nerve, and the way he used both of
them made the other three keep their
eyes open. There wasn't much diff
ference in the mems winnings up to
breakfast time, but all of a sudden the
CARDS got freakish, as they will some
times, and began to run against Raw
son.
1.-THE players wouldn't give up the
game and had breakfast brought to
them. They laid down the cards long
enough to eat, and then went at it again.
Rawson's hard luck kept up. He turned
his hat around, crossed his legs, got up
and walked around bis chair, rung in
new packs of cards, and did everything
that the superstitious poker player does
to change his luck, but it wouldn't
change. His money kept drifting away
until ten o'clock in the forenoon, when
he counted up his assets and found that
he had 5000 left. He had fed about 81 ,s00
to the tiger, and naturally felt a little
sore. At last a jackpot was started
about half-past ten o'clock, and the
cards were dealt around a dozen times
and nobody got openers.
"'Hurry up, boys, and open it, said
Rawson. I've got to catch that Has
train. I'm going to be married to-
night, and 1 must be in by five o'clock,
dressed for the OCCASION
"But the boys didn't seem to be able
to hurry. They dealt and dealt, but
somehow the right kind of openers
wouldn't fall, and finally there was a
snug little pot of about 5000 on the
table. At 1880 Travers opened the pot
for 500. Holcomn and Collins stayed.
az feel just as if l was going to win
that pot said Rawson, writing some
figures on a piece of paper and throwing
II on the center Of the table with what
money he had left. I'm shy $50, boys,
but I guess I'm good for It.
"'Your check is as good as your
money said Travers.
EVERY bit,' said Holcomb and Col
Tins.
"sBut you'll never catch that train
remarked Travers.
".By thunder!' explained Rawson, 4
forgot all about that He looked at his
watch and found that he had three
minutes in which to get to the station.
There's no use trying to make it now
he said, they'll have to postpone the
wedding. I'll telegraph that I've missed
the t<ain' At HAS a messenger was