The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-10-30

! you you Icel IKE playing unIll you
evened up, and I'D get no rest. Better
not come in, Fat. Better hit your bunk
for long snooze. Wen have breakfast
together when they hitch on the dining
car at Council Bluffs.
/ I haven't sat into game Of draw
for long While, said Dunwoody S
friend, and I'd rather play than eat
There was a bit of pathos in that re-
mark, l thought and ] kicked Dun
woody under the table
Wen, jump in then, Fatty said
! DunWoody and the poor chap drew a
chair up to the table with a look of
pleasure on his drawn, hollow face.
/ with its two brightly burning spots on
the cheekbones.
! 1T soon became apparent that Dun
/ WoOdyS fear about our getting into
the consumptive didn't stand any show
/ whatever Of being realized. The ema-
ciated man was AN almighty good
/ poker player, nervy, cool and cautious,
and yet q good bit audacious at that.
/ | caught him four-fiushing and bluff
! ing on it several times, but he got my
money right along in the general play
! all the same, and after an hours play
he had the whole three of us on the
run. ] was about 500 to the rear, and
! DunWoody and Danforth had each con-
tributed a bit more than that to the
consumptXe's stack of chips The fact
was he simply outclassed the three Of
US as poker player-and, by the way,
l wonder why it is that men that have
got something the matter with their
lungs are Invariably such rafting good
poker players2 I've noticed this right
along. / never yet sat into a poker
game with a man that haG consump-
ton in one stage or another of it that
he didn't make me smoke a pipe for
spell. That would be a good one to
spring on some medical SHARP for an
explanation.
"By the time midnight came around
Dunwoody's friend with the pulmonary
trouble had won about half as much
again from us, and Dunwoody began
to look at his watch nervously. The
/ three of us were taking a little nip at
frequent intervals, just enough to
brush the cobwebs away, but the sick
looking man didn't touch a drop. He
smoked one cigaret after another, how
ever, inhaling the smoke into his shrun-
ken lungs, and the sight made all of
us feel sorry, 1 guess, for the fool
hardness of the man. Finally. Dun
woody looked at his watch and then
raised his eyes and took q survey of
the countenance of the consumptive,
which was overspread with a deep
flush. The consumptive's eyes We're ex-
traordinarily bright, too.
" Fatty said Dunwoody. cash in
and go to bed You've had enough OF
this. Poker and IL cigarets for a one
Hunger bound for Colorado for his
health! Cash in and skip
" No, / don't want to quit, George
said the consumptive. 1 haven't had
tanything like enough yet. What's more,
I've got all of you fellows too much
| in the hole. I only wanted to come in
for the fun of it, anyhow, and here I
am with a lot of the coin of the three
of you. I'll just play on until this pay
streak deserts me and give you fellows
a chance to win out.
when he finished saying this, the
man with the wasted lungs bad an
other violent spell of coughing and
| Dunwoody looked worried But he gave
in.
All right, Fat he said, do as you
derned please, but l don't want to be
boxing you up and shipping you back
to the lake front.
Then the game proceeded. ! don't
! think any Of us felt exactly right, play
/ ing with a man who looked as if his
days were as short-numbered as a
child's multiplication table, but maybe
| the fact that he was such comforta-
/ BILE winner from us mitigated our SYM
pathy for him just a little bit. He
| kept on winning steadily for the next
hour, and about half past / IN the NOR
ming there was a good-size Jackpot.
/ 1t went around half q dozen times, all
of US sweetening it for five every time
! the deal passed, and finally, on the
seventh deal, which was the consump-
| tives Danforth, who sat on his left.
opened the pot. l stayed and so did
| Dunwoody. When it was up to the deal
err he nodded his head to indicate that
! hp a q a
| him, and we noticed that he had gone
pale 1t was noticeable after the deep
| flush that had covered his face when
| he entered.
"Danforth took two cards. / drew
honestly and to my hand, which had
pair of kings in it, and / caught an
other one. Dunwoody asked for three
and then the dealer put the deck down
beside him.
How many is the dealer dishing
himself?" we all happened to ask in
chorus.
None answered the sick man, who
seemed to be getting paler all the
| time.
"'Pat. hey, Fatty?' said Dunwoody
| Must be pretty well fixed, or, say are
you gally enough to try bluff on this?
| You don't expect to bluff Danforth out
! of his own pot?'
Iic ooiSuihplANC Oiliy 0illIiCu d wan
smile.
"Well, I hope you are well fixed,
went on Dunwoody, for it's your last
hand I'm going to send you to your
| bunk as soon as / win this jack.
The limit said Danforth, the pot
| opener, skating five white chips into the
centre.
Five more. said 1, putting the chips
.nrn cali both of you, said Dun
woody, showing ten chips into the
pile.
Z" IT was up to Dunwoody's consump-
tive friend. He opened his lips to speak
and little dabs of blood appeared at
both corners of his mouth. His head
fell back and at the same time the
cards in his hand fell face up on the
table. The hand was an ace high flush
az diamonds Dunwoody was standing
over him in an instant, and DanfoTth
and / both jumped up. Dunwoody
wiped the blood away from the man
mouth with his handkerchief and then
nut the back Of his hand on the mans
It's cold, said Dunwoody with a
Edueer look.
aThen he placed his ear to his friends
heart. .,4,,
| a good deal of suspense. He raised his
head after about thirty seconds.
'Crowhursts dead was all he
said
"Dunwoody tciegraphed ahead for an
undertaken to meet the train at Omaha
1 He gathered up the cards, too, and the
chips.
i 'Crowhurst won that pot. he whis-
1 pered to US His pat flush beat all OF
our threes.
/ 'Dunwoody was banker and he
4 cashed ali Of the dead mans chips
! When he took Crowhurst's body back
from Omaha to Chicago in a box, Dun
woody handed the $3.50 the dead mar