The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-10-26


boat With His PiIs-Private Denny
flanagan and His Short Cut to For.
tune-Jim Truelove's Sabine Nerve and
How IL Was Rewarded All at Once.
Washington, D. c., Oct. 14-"About
one man in 10000 is ievel-headed enough
TO quit when he pulls big stake out
of some other fellows game said Frank
McGonigle, an Idaho sheep man, to a
party here the other night. The ten
thousandth man was out my way a
cople Of years ago. He was Joe Gil
bert, conductor on the Spokane North
ern. Joe had the run between Pendle-
ton, Ore, and Spokane. He brought MS
train. the flyer of the line, from Pendle-
ton, 20 Spokane every other day. He al
ways managed to dress and eat and
drink pretty we'll when off duty, and he
never lacked few dollars to go up
against the Spokane tiger. Up to this
time I am going TO tell you about he
never managed to do much more than
hold his own at the game, and It used
to surprise mis- friends that ne even did
as well as this, for he was a reckless
and ierratic player.
'Joe's game was faro, and he played
it in Spokane at Goetz & Baer's Occur
d Alene.' 1 believe the Occur d. Alene
Is the biggest institution OF this kind in
this country. You can get anything you
want'ithere-a shave, meal, drink, a
lodging. or a fortune, II you have the
luck. TIE faro bank is the mainstay OF
the house. The game is on the level,
and it has several times been cracked
pretty hard by the professionals who
journeyed from Denver and Cheyenne
for the purpose. But the Occur d. Alene'
faro box had never been turned until
Jot Gilbert made them turn it. The rule
OF the house was that when the tiger
had been baited to the extent of 10000
the box should be turned and play
should cease for the night. This rule
had never been put into practice until
the night, two years ago this fall, when
Joe Gilbert struck Spokane with what
gamblers call "hunch" and bad light
In his eye
BEGINS A STIFF GAME.
There are several faro layouts at the
'Cour d'Alene-tables for the chuboers
who sweat short stacks, lose hard, and
then go up against it for meal tickets,
and two or three tables for the big lplay
men, who slap stacks Of blues and yell
lows all over fthe cards. Gilbert picked
out the swell table Of the lot on this
night. He took two ctacks, OF yellows
for the 5000 he had brought along. He
was one of those players who never
use pencil or paper. and he had as much
use for systems as he had for hobos
on the blind-baggage. He split his
stacks and planted them on the first
cards 70 show in the box on this night.
and the luck wac his from the fall OF the
flag, I never saw such absolutely I'M
bea table luck. When the deal had gone
on for fully half an hour, with scarcely
a word being spoken at the table, the
man in the blue uniform had lost only
six bets in the whole play, and he was
nearly $500 ahead of the bank. The
dealer became mighty uneasy. He
changed the deck a half dozen times,
and switching the lookout twiceHTH
and switched the lookout twice. But it
was no go. Gilbert kept right on win
ming, all Of the time playing what any
sane man would consider the most ut
terry fool faro that could be studied out
by a mathematician. One minute ne
would copper about all the cards on the
table, and the next ne would brush all
the ccppers off and play the whole table
wide open. Yet he couldn't lose. The
other players made bets only here and
there, they were so absorbed in the oon-
ductor's play, and it looked like a deal
for Gilbert alone.
BREAKS THE FARO BANK.
FINALLY Gilbert asked the dealer to
open the 500 limit. The lookout gave the
word and the play was resumed. With
out winking an eye the $50 a month
man piled his 500 stacks all around the
layout. Every deal for three solid hours
cav his row Of chips swelled by several
stacks. In less than that time he had
all the yellows out, then the blues, and
finally made inroads upon the larger
number of whites. He won ten bets
where he lost two. Neither dtalers,
moro new cards. different loakouts.
thing, but all OF the schemes failed TO
break the spell OF Gilbert's phenomenal
luck. The conductor tossed up S. chips
to the fellows standing around who had
chubbed IN their last tHoj5it piece, and,
oddly enough. nearly every man whom
he so favored picked UP a good roll at
one Of the other Ia bles.
AT two o'clock in the morning. after
Joe had been at it for just five hours,
the dealer turned over the box and an
nounced the game closed for the night
all he'checks out and the bank broken
wide open. The house paid Joe his s10,-
600 without counting the chips. Gilbert
handed me the money and asked me TO
keep it for him until ne had a nignt's
sleep and chance 10 think
"'You'u sleep just about thirty nights
before You get centavo OF this roll
back. joe said I, and 1 meant Il. But
when Gilbert came around the next day
and told me that ne must have the &c.
00o-,hat ne still had his 'hunch' with
him and couldn't afford to neglect i'll
handed 1t 70 him.
You'll be broke in twenty-four hours
said
Not much, 1 won't" he replied.
Come on down TO Portland with me-
FORCES HIS RARE LUCK.
CT wanted to go 70 Portland on bust
ness anyhow, and 50 l went along with
Gilbert, feeling that he would need q
friends consolation when ne dropped bis
pile down there. I wanted 70 boo: him
=.
ductor 20 the Omaha Office OF the line.
but ne wouldn't talk 20 me about X.
Wait was all he said in reply
The nightw e reached Portland Gil
bert went right down 20 the Arton club