The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-09-24
LOST BET AND LIFE.
A Turn That Closed the CaIe er Of
Long Haired Brown.

A system at Faro Bank That Was Always
Played Through Until 1t Went Against
q Game Where Laughing Ed Was Deal
ing and Ready to Shoot.
"There are very few forty Miners" said
the returned Californian, "who do not re-
member the Whipple hogs, and l reckon
there are number of men living besides
myeelf who were present at the time when
IL was question of life and death between
the youngest of the three brothers and
Long Haired Brown as he was called.
"Steve Whipple was one of the first who
went to the Pacific coast from Boston
when gold was discovered. but he didn't
60 out with any idea of digging gold out
ae the ground. He had been gambler at
home, and believed with reason that he
could win the gold dust faster at his own
faro table than he could wash it oft with
. pan. So he opened one of the many
gambling bells that fiourished in those
days. His flourished amazingly, and as
he was prudent sort of person, he aoou
a stock farm at San Mateo and sundry
houses in Frisco, ard everything he
touched seemed to turn to money.
little and took to stock speculation, and
he was lucky. So it was not unnatural
chat Ed, the youngest, should join them
little later. Ed was a bright, dashing
young fellow, with less stability than the
others, but with plenty of self possession,
and. as the event proved, plenty of cour-
age. Steve looked after him, and Ed was
soon known as one of the best faro dealers
in, to OF. ho bo
box for Steve. He had slight and very
curious twist on one side Of his mouth
which could not be called deformity, but
which gave him the appearance Of smiling
perpetually, so that he was soon nick
named Laughing Ed.
Brown was a bad, bad man. There
was no doubt about it, for he had an actual
record Of four or five men whom he had
wantonly murdered before he stacked up
against Laughing Ed. Don't ask me why
he wasn't punished. 1t is too we'll known
now that those things were not punished
excepting by individual avengers for Il
good while after the rush began.
''He wore his hair unusually long when
long hair was affected by a good many
otherwise sensible men, and got his nick
name from that, of course He was tall,
cAAilA anu ddAA b1odBCuy WlOA COf1l UldCk
eyes, and dressed oonspiouously even
among men who studied unconventional
ity. He was an all around criminal and
an inveterate gambler. He was generally
lucky, too, but he had peculiar way Of
trying to force the luck when it ran
against him that made him unpopular.
He would go up to a faro table and throw
a gold piece on some card. 1t would gen.
orally be a 800 piece. If the card lost, he
would throw down another on the same
card, and If it lost again he would throw
down another with the remark addressed
to the dealer, IF that loses, I'll kill you
The strange part of 1t was that he had
done this repeatedly and had killed four,
and think five, men under exactly those
circumstances. The gamblers had come
to know him, however, and more than
one Of them had determined to shoot first
If 1t came to a third winning from him.
'Steve Whipple used always to have a
bank going in any town where there was
anything else going on to attract crowd,
and on this occasion he had game at
Marysville, where there was some sort of
fair in progress. 1t was next door to the
theater, and was from the time 1t was
opened the favorite game in town. Laugh
ing Ed generally dealt. One night he was
behind the table as usual when Long
Haired Brown came in. Steve was stand
ing around watching things generally and
saw Brown come In. He was not a fight
ing man himself, but he made up his mind
to take hand in any disturbance that
might OCCUR, so he took care to stand close
by when Brown began playing as usual
He threw $50 piece on the five and stood
watching 1t without word. One five had
already been played, SO there were three
others In the box. The five lost. He then
threw another $40 on the five and that lost
Then be pulled q slug, as the $50 piece was
called, and threw that on the five, which
was now a case card.
IF that loses, you smiling son of a
gun, he exclaimed, 'I'll kill you.'
Probably there wasn't a man In the
room who did not know what be had al
ready done, but it was a matter between
him and the dealer, and the others, except
ing Steve, drew away little Steve drew
little nearer.
Laughing Eds smile did not fade away
In any degree, perhaps because it couldn't,
but he looked up pleasantly, and with a
lightninglike motion of his right hand he
juggled the money drawer just trifle,
and then he kept on dealing, possibly a
little more slowly than before.
1.-THE five Of spades was still in the box.
So was the four Of spades, and the crowd
looked anxiously for the five 10 appear AS
Laughing Ed slid one card after another
from the box, each one revealing the next
in turn, all eyes were looking for the two
black pips that would show first. Pres
emily they appeared, and I think every
man in the room held his breath while the
card was slowly uncovered, for 1t was the
losing card, but there was general rustic
when 1t proved to be the four.
Brown never moved or spoke. His
eyes were as intent as every one else's, but
he looked as cool as Laughing Ed did.
Slowly and still more slowly the cards
came out till on the next to the last turn
the five showed up, the loser.
Laughing Ed had uncovered it $50 slow
ly that his eyes were the first to catch the
black edges of the two pips on the side of
the card, but the instant he saw them he
slid the top card off like lightning, and