Evening star., 1897-01-09
FIVE ACES WON.
They Were I'm Uncle Joe's Hand and
He Took the Pot From the Man With
Four.

He Took the Pot From the Man With
| Four.
From the New York Sum-
| was conductor on trunk line rail-
road in the flush days that Immediately
preceded the close of the war and prevail
| ed for few years after the close. Money
was plentiful, morals were rather lax, and
! as yet 1t had not been made part of the
railroad conductors duty to stand guard
over the pocketbocks of credulous travel
ers or those whose cupidity ran away with
| their reason and consequently those we're
| the halcyon days of travelling card players
abroad for what was in their profession
| used to like a quiet game of draw nv
sell, and INDUCED my liking whenever my
duty gave me opportunity. This, of course
paced me in sympathy with others who
played. and one day got into pretty stiff
game on board my own train, while in the
| actual discharge of my duty. and vet with
out holding hard. 1 had been on the
rcad gut week or two, and was not ct
| acquainted with all its patrons In going
through the train collecting fares this cay
speak of 1 came to four passengers VINO
were absorbed in a game of poker a news
paper spread on their laps to play on.
| Fares, please" 1 said
People didn't bother much about buying
tickets In those days. and a large propor-
ton of the fares were paid on the trains.
Ihree OF the men handed over their money
ed. said:
Conductor, can't you come round a little
| later2" -
1 told him must have his fare then and
there He looked at his companions, hesi-
tated moment, and then said:
viii you let me take little rake off
They declined to do so
conductor said he. holding up a hand
ful of gunwads, them stands for all the
money money l got. m goin' to bet 'em this
here hand. and the mischief of it is IN
have to call before I've done it Justice
| This is the hand
He PASSED it up to me, shielding it care
| aces. 1 became interested at once. I had
$50 in my pocket. L reached in and ,ook
cut so and handed it to the holder of
| the big hand
Go ahead.' said 1, bet that on it, toor,
he did so. Two of the other players
dropped out The fourth stayed and L
passed my remaining forty dollars to the
nan with the four aces. That was INV pile
and he had to call. He hated to, he said
and hated to have him do 1t, with a
nand like that. but there was no help for
~ lie called The other man showed
down straight f1rsh! He got my money
and the money of the man 1 backed, and /
| nadn even got the mans fare, L stopped
the train and put him off, and that was all
station was the end of my run. That same
evening l saw the man l had backed and
put OF the train and his three companions
| board an east-bound train.
| DO you know any of those chaps?" I
asked the station agent.
know 'em-' he replied Rather
They're four of the slipperest card sharps
| on the line of the F., G. and W.
They had initiated me, that was all.
A great many drovers Travelled on the
railroads during the war. They carried
plenty Of money. and We're generally easy
| and profitable game for the professional
card players. Some of the drovers, though,
had the reputation of being very handy
with cards themselves. and Dragged of it.
l used to hear of Uncle Joe Reddy, Big Ike
| Sloat and others as among the quick wtted
| drovers who were said to be able to take
care of themselves against the tricks of
the sharpe's. One day L noticed among my
| passengers noted card sharp, known IA
| miHarly as Jersey Jerry. At way sta
| tion, little old man, gray and wrinkled
| but still active and spry, got aboard the
! train He was very loquacious old gen.
| tleman, and gave me the impression that
| ne had been indulging overmuch in apple
jack that being a belt of country famous
Tor that insinuating and lingering tipple.
| He talked to every body within hea and
| finally expressed Willingness to play any
one a game of old sledge for quarter a
| corner. Nobody paid any attention to the
| garrulous old fellow for a long time, ard
| then Jersey Jerry began to take an inter-
| est in him. This surprised me- as the old
| man seemed to me to be rather small game
| for that far-reaching individual. At any
| rate. before long Jerry was busy playing
| him old sledge for quarter corner, and
| the old man winning every game
| much to his apparent delight, and in ;he
| process of putting away and producing Eis
| stakes he displayed a wallet the pieth IRA
| of which explained the interest Jersey Jer-
| ry was manIfeStng In him.
| After while, in going through the train,
| noticed that the game had changed to
| poker and that jerry had evidently led lis
| intended victim along until they We're play
| ing pretty stiff game; but the old man
| was winning. and he was elated beyoad
| measure and more garrulous than ever. l
4 n a fr he -
| deal. / knew somehow that now he had
| worked up to his game and that the
| climax was at hand / felt sorry for the
| OLD man, but 1t was not my affair. He had
paraded himself too much. anyhow AS
| Jerry tossed his opponents cards to him l
| caught q glance of each, and would have
sworn that four of them were kings. The
| old man took them up cautiously and held
| them close. He seemed to gloat over the
possession CT them. He drew no cards.
| Jerry drew one. Then they began to bet
| The old man was game, and came back at
Jerry without quaver. -Four kings was a
| tremendous hand, but / knew that Jersey
| Jerry had given himself a better one as
we'll as 1 knew l was there. By and by
| there was mole than $500 in the pot and
| the old man seemed satisfied. He called.
What a ye got,ye young smarty? he said
-Four aces pop!' said Jerry. That's alr'
''Ye hain't got enough on 'em, jerry ex-
claimed the old man. and Jerry started to
| hear his name called. ..Ye hain't got
enough on 'em, cause 1 got five on 'em
| myself"
| And the old man, with a grin that meant
| a great deal, and a look In his eyes that
meant a great deal more, spread five aces
| on the newspaper they were playing on.
| and coolly raked the money in and slowed
| 1t in his wallet To the utter amazement
| Of myself and every one else who saw it.
| Jerry got up without a word and went into
| the next car. The old man only grinned
| the more. and in less than five minutes was
| sound asleep in his seat.
4 Il wonder who that man is?'' said to the
| head brakeman as I went out, pointing
| back to the seat where the erizzled old
passenger was asleep. with his head
| thrown back. The head brakeman knew
| everybody.
who him?' said he. "why, that's old
Uncle Joe Reddy, the drover"
Uncle Joseph had played 1t way down on
the sharper, for he knew him and his game
| and q trick worth two Of his