Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1898-06-16
Downfall of MiletuS Jones
A POKER IDYLL
By EDWIN BIoRKMAN.
i'DoKER has many ups and downs"

lOhER has many ups and DOWNS"
was the philosophical remark
made by a friend Of mine the other
evening as we were slipping our coffee.
smoking our cigarettes and enjoying
the sense of profound peace which bol-
.O%s upon good dinner as reward fol-
lows virtue.
This sage remark brought into my
mind the downfall OF Miletus Jones,
which happened in the following way:
IN one of the states bordering Oh the
great lakes there are two small towns,
having only a few hundred inhabitants
zach. and being located side by side in
brotherly hostility. The corner gro
Gerry and general store of Sinona is
just a mile and a half distant from
that OF Dupontsviile, as the crow flies,
and the better part of the two commu-
mites lives right between the two
stores.
Miletus Jones was the manager Of the
.Sinona store, but do not think many
knew his real name. Some one had re-
baptized him Jerry when he first ar
rived, and by that name he had been
known ever since. The owner OF the
Norwegian by the name of Ole Brakk-
stad, a slender, black-haired little fel
low, who in everything looked the Op-
Posite of Jerry with his cold, steel-blue
eyes and his gaunt Yankee figure. They
had one thing in common, those two
namely, their devotion to poker.
On every weekday evening one of
the competing stores would contain the
poker devotees of the two towns. Most
OF them would remain mere spectators,
but there were always six or seven men
on hand ready to take an active part.
Jerry and Ole were among these, as
matter Of course.
The atmosphere in the little store was
murky on such occasions; the cards
were old and dirty, and would stick to-
gether in the most provoking fashion.
causing much delay and moderate at
tenpts at bad language. Chips were
not used for two reasons: First, be-
cause they had not been available when
the poker habit had been inaugurated,
and all innovations were dreaded as
unknown factors for bad luck or good;
secondly, because the presence of chips
would have made the game look more
like real gambling. Matches, closely
watched and carefully counted, had 10
90 service as chips, each match repre-
senting a penny. Money was never
seen on the table. the differences being
settled with one of the StOrekeepers
during the following day in the quiet |
est possible manner. The limit was
mostly fixed at five cents. but it hap
PeneG. when Jerry OF Ole had been
Ins de desperate by continuous i'll |
luck. that the limit was raised 10 ten
cents to give the loser better chance. |
Rivals in everything else. the compe-
ti;ion between Jerry and Ole rose 20
its height when il became question OF
securing the next evenings poker game |
for their respective stores. To act as
hosts on these occasions they consi6- |
cred at once the climax OF honor and |
the soun6est basis of profit. Once seat !
ed at the crude card table, they would |
go about their business in very differ |
ent fashions, each according TO his own |
nature. Jerry was cool, sharp and |
scientific. while Ole seemed all fire. i'm |
petuosity and uncertainty. Ones |
sphinx-like reticence was not more diff |
ficult TO interpret than the others err |
ratio explosions, and both were gen
orally playing a winning game, ex-
cept when they ran up against each |
other. Then a tug of war followed. |
and temporary ruin resulted for one of |
them.
-'O.e IS the better winner, but Jerry is
the better player" was the judgment |
uttered by one of the town orac,es IN /
discussing the poker merits of the two
men: and those words placed the oracle
on frmsr footing than ever. for the
people thought that he had hit the nail
on the head.
Gradually Jerry had become the es-
;a6!:Shed authority on everything con-
corning poker-to the unconcealed dis
gus; of Ole. His words were received
as final judgment. brooking no resist
ancs- BE possessed and read copy of
Hoyie, and < was related at least once
every evening that he had spent whole
year OF his life in mining camp where
the iimi; OF the game never fell below
the GOEar-if there ever was a limit.
L seemed finally as If all The rivalry
of the two towns had been concentrated
in this never-end:ng poker contest.
And the opinion was expressed in all
seriousness by = prominent citizen that
If one OF me S;orkekeePers could infiict
a lasting defeat on the other one the Is
of that town would be set
tied for all time. Matters reached a
climax when, one fine day. some one
proposed that a championship game be
played, the principal stake, besides the
money involved, to be the location of
every game for one year II the store
OF the winning town
Thia idea was received with unbound