The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1897-01-27
A GAME OF POKER.

eaid big westerner who came into an
up town clubhouse the other night with
some friends who had been showing him
the town. Somebody had suggested a
little game of draw as an appropriate
wind up of the nights diversion.
why, how is that?' exclaimed one
of his friends. You used to play stiff
game You haven't sworn off, have
you?'
"N-no." said the westerner, still
serious. 81 have not sworn off, but
there is no excitement i'll the game for
me now. The last game I played was
too exciting"
The thrilling story thereof runs as
follows:
" 1t was dozen years ago, when
was tenderfoot, with the usual allow
anco of freshness and ignorance of from
tier perils. We used to call it brashness,
and l was certainly brash. roamed
around the country rather for the better
part of a year, with more or less vague
purpose of settling somewhere, but not
caring much where.
81 was we'll down toward New Mex
leo when there was rumor of Indian
troubles, and heard that company of
United States troops were on tho march
toward ono Of the principal villages
where the redskins were particularly
Sullen.
Il had been out hunting for week
with couple of fellows l had met in
one Of the towns, when we got the news
from u stranger who came into our camp
late at night and asked for supper. He
admitted when we questioned him-not
too closely, for inquisitiveness is at q
large discount OH tho plains, but casu-
ally-that he was scout in the govern
mcnt employ and was OH his way to Join
this company.
There S likely to be some pretty
warm work, he said when we asked %
little more, for if tho rcd devils are not
Oh the warpath now they will be III n
day or two, and you fellows will do Il
smart trick if you turn back
Turning back, however, didn seem
very attractive to me when there was so
much excitement ahead. promptly re-
marked that thought | would 20 on
with the scout and offer my services To
tho captain i'll command. | told YOU
was pretty brash at the time, and had
no knowledge Of military affairs. Ny
notion was that the captain would be
! glad of recruit, or, at least, that no
would make no objection to my going
with him.
Il noticed that tho scout looked at mo
little curionsly. but he evidently
thought it was not his business to cdu-
cato tendcrfcet, and he only grunted
My two companions were rs fresh as l
was, and we told the scout we would 90
along if he had no objection.
It's Il free country, and | reckon
you can travel wherever you like, he
said, with IL grin that | understood bet
ter afterward
''Wo started before dawn and had
thirty odd miles to go TO strike the trail
where the company was expected to
camp that night. There were still some
ten miles to go, when, us We were
rounding IL small hill, the scout suddenly
leaped from his horse and called to us
10 do tho same.
''lIe had seen Indians, and, to cut it
short, we camped that night i'll /. place
where the scout said that four men could
hold out for awhile even against tho
hundred or SO i'll the party that had sur
rounded us. IL was Il certainty, though
that we would all loso our scalps unless
help came, for there was no water TO be
i1"d, and the Indians knew ii and made
| themselves comfortable just ont of range
of our rifles.
The scout didn say much for long
time, but we could see that he was
thinking as hard rs any of us, and wc
were all pretty busy at it. There didn t
seem TO be anything To suggest, or at
| least there was nothing that / could
| think Of, excepting to make Il dash and
| try to break through
Nobody said anything III reply when
| / spoke of that and the scout gave Inc
IL look of disgust that made me angry
| enough, but shut me up all the same.
| Finally he said:
It's just this way: These devils
have caught us and they know it. They
won't mako i rush, for they know wo
will shoot, and an Indian will never
risk being shot if no can get his man
"ioiio"'' we Gan HBiiI ouI way out.
| There's too many of om. And we can L
stay hero any longer than we can live
| without water.
81 asked him if tho captain wouldn' t
make a search for him, and he said tho
| captain didn't know ne WAS coming
He's on his way south, ne said, and
| tho trail he is on is ten miles to the east
of us There's only one thing that see,
and that means certain death for some
| body, | reckon. It's certain death for
all Of us, though, if something amt