The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-12-09

Ol luiit.
 l John Love had come to Reno firm the east, Big, jolly and good-natured, he was the brunt of all the jokes the horde of miners in the hotel could con- celve. But he was a poker player. With five cards in his hands and a high stack of yellows and blues, he would back his judgement until the | last check had passed into the hands | of his adversaries and the last dollar l from his pocket, These four played ! for cash and cash only. Put yo' papah in the stove. Gen | tlemen nevah ask favors in gentle mems pokah game" Colonel Reed had | frequently observed when paper was 1 offered in lieu of cash. And the colonel | was poker player also. He played with calm dellberation which threw his companions entirely off guard. | Lucky Sanders, so called because of his good fortune at poker, his first name having never been known to his | companions, was a quick player A glance at his five cards and his draw | settled it with him.
 | Plugger Jones had acquired his 1 Christian name because of his anxiety | to spend all his waking hours at the | Reno hotel poker table. When Plug | ger got up in the morning his first act was to How to some one tha the wouldn't mind sittin' in" He rarely | ia led to have a quorum seated about 1 the marble-top table before the dinner ! bell was heard. It was so on this oc- casion, and Love and the colonel seem aI to ho1r oil he J,,n buc ha ran until Lucky and Plugger saw their piles of checks each representing $1O0 disappear one after the other. Lucky was dealing and he asked Plugger, who sat at his right, to cut the cards.
 "Shucks. Go on. I'll see if I can dlap on somethin' without cuttin'," he said.
 The pastebcards were dealt without the cut. The colonel as usual was in calm deliberation after picking up his hand. Jones seemed suddenly to be- come serious, and threw his cards into the discard with an oath. Lucky peeked at his just as Love covered the coloners ante with S20 raise. LucSys cards followed Plugger's into the deck But the colonel came back at Love WllH d AoU IdlSb.N loNG lOOhGu oIdlll and raised the pot another st0. The colonel met the raise and called Cor two cards
 You uns are up against tother now, I guess Lucky remarked. Love stood pat and bet hundred. The colonel studied the cards minute and raised hundred. Love raised hundred more. So d,d the colonel Plugger nearly fell from his chair when Love made another hundred raise, and sug- ges.ed that 'the limit be trapped" The colonel agreed, and began to count his pile. seven forty-three" he said as he pushed 1t into the center of the table.
 Here's four seventy-nine. All I got here. I'll write you an I. o. U,. Love said pushing his pile into the mass of greenbacks and gold.
 No gentleman would offah paper" the colonel said, as he had under sim liar circumstances a thousand times before.
 The remark seemed to anger Love.
 'Plugger, burn up all the cards but our hands," he ordered, and Plugger gathered up the discards and deck and threw them into the open stove.
 Colonel, propose to see them cards of yourn. Will you trust me on the honor of gentleman to leave the room for more money? Write your own name on the back of each card"
 The colonel6 did as requested and passed over his hand face downward for Love to mark. Then Love left the room. He bent his footsteps to- ward the larger of the two banks of Reno. At the doorway he encountered the president of the institution, George Thomas. Pulling his cards from his pocket he laid them before Thomas and said
 George, me and the colonel is a-goin' it. Whats them worth?"
 Thomas eyes fairly stood out of their sockets as he surveyed the paste- boards. "Them's wuth the whole she bang" he replied.
 A few minutes later Thomas, with his pockets bulging, accompanied Love to the Reno hotel parlor.
 Colonel, this gentleman sees yo' raise and raises yo' a thousand" Love said, laying stack of bills on the table with the heap of greenbacks and gold
 The colonel glanced at Thomas. Wait ten minutes No gentleman would offer papah," he said and he forthwith disappeared from the room. He walked around the corner of the hotel to the second bank of Reno. Step ping to the cashiers window he asked for Bill Dawson," the owner of the institution. Bill came around the par tition.
 'Bill, look at these an tell me what yo' think they is wuth."
 A glance sufficed Bill Holy snakes and grasshopperst'' he said Colonel, them is worth every cent in this bank"
 Ten minutes later Bill Dawson and the colonel appeared at the hotel par Tor. Dawson saw Thomas and nudged the colonel The two bankers glared at each other, but neither spoke.
 "See you and raise you five thous- and" the colonel said, laying pile of bills in the heap.
 ! By this time the news of the fierce poker game had spread about Reno,
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