The St. Johns herald., 1897-09-25
THE BLUFF FAILED.
BUT IT BROUGHT ABOUT THE DESIRED
 RESULT AT LAST.

Bad Repute - Medal That Contained
 an 1nscription-Poker and Bottled Re.
 treatments.
 ''It frequently happens" said col lege graduate, "that different chapters of the same Greek letter fraternity, sit uated at different colleges, develop diff ferent characteristics. All of these so- cieties, l think, are organized to encour- age literary pursuits. 1 mean that's what the constitutions say. As mat ter Of fact, the literary element is rath- CT lost sight of ill most cases ill the stress of having jolly good time. When convention time comes round, however, the chapters that have main tained their literary quality come to the fore, and the others have to put up bluff by sending as delegates men who have high standing as scholars or else take very back seat.
 ''The chapter to which I belonged was located at a country college. and in some way or other it had acquired a reputation in the fraternity of being es- l sentially 'nonliterary, and, in fact, rath CT sporty ill character. This was so much the case that in my junior year 1 there was movement on foot to expel or suspend our chapter from the frater- nifty. We weren't very strong in high stand men and couldn't even scare up two to go as delegates to the conven- tion. Another man and myself were finally selected for this function as the most unsophisticated looking members of the chapter.
 As usual in such cases, special train was made up to start from the westernmost chapter and to pick up as many of the other delegations as could be arranged on its way to the convention city. We were among the more remote chapters, and when we boarded the train there was only one other delega- tion on board, composed of three mem- bers. We sighed when we saw big boxes of bottled beer in the freight car and reflected on the elaborate instructions we had received from our constituents. We were primed for the occasion. My companion, Forbes, had classical vol ume ill each side pocket of his coat and there were ink stains on his fingers. 1 had borrowed from a classmate medal given for scholarship, and this I had rather ostentatiously hung on my watch chain.
 "We soon made the acquaintance of the other three delegates and joined them in their stateroom. Before long they proposed game of poker, and one of them produced a pack of cards. Forbes said he didn't play, retired to a corner, pulled out copy of Gladstone's Landmarks of Homeric Study and after gazing thoughtfully out of the window for moment or two apparently became absorbed in it. 1 admired his conception of the part, but l cOuldn' t bring myself to break up the game, and that's what it meant, for everybody l knows there's no fun in three handed poker. Besides, there were only three delegates on the train to witness my fall. 1 said 1 didn't play, but had seen the game and thought it looked inter esting. I was willing to learn.
 "When we got started, there was a demand for buck, and unhitched the scholarship medal and dropped it into the pot as good means of calling at tention to it. Everything went on swimmingly for awhile. had outra- geous luck and won pot after pot, so they were confirmed in the idea that I was a beginner. After awhile one of the other delegates got away with a jack pot, and while he was waiting for the cards to be dealt he picked up the medal and glanced carelessly at the obverse side. 1 hadn't examined it particularly, but found out afterward that it bore this neat inscription: Garrett J. Gardner, Weymouth University, Class of '87.
 "The delegate started and looked at me with glance that was first mysti- fled and then suspicious.
 1T beg your pardon, Brother Gard ner, he said, with touch of sarcasm. I thought you said your name was Hawkins, and we've all been calling you that right along.
 "There was smothered guffaw from behind the Landmarks of HOmeric Study, and saw the jig was up. We made a clean breast of it, and Forbes sat into the game, making it five hand ed, which, of course, is the ideal game. We didn't lose any time sending for ward for consignment of that bottled beer, and the floor was strewn with dead Indians when the train filled up with other delegates, and they crowded around to watch the game.
 Our elaborate bluff hadn't worked, and the convention opened with our chapter in just as bad odor as before, but we had made stanch supporters of the three delegates and some other kind ly spirits who had joined us on the train. They all went to work like bea- vers, and when our case was taken up in the convention we had a good work ing majority which sustained our char ter with a whoop. New York Sun.
 Making It Easy.
 Old John S-- was a rural postman in a west country district and in rather rough fashion was also an anna teur dentist. On his rounds one day he met certain farmer about to start for a six mile ride to town for the purpose of getting an aching tooth drawn. On seeing old John, however, the farmer, distracted with pain, determined to test the old mans skill as tooth puller. A pair of somewhat rusty pliers was pro duced, and after a few tugs the tooth was held up for the farmer to see, who exclaimed:
 "Whv JOhn vou'ye drawn the wrong