Barre evening enterprise. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-1898, 1898-04-21
CHEATED AT POKER.
PAGE FROM THE uNWRITTsN HIS
TORY OF A UNIVERSITY

Punishment Meteu Su' !" {"
Student by Society and the Taculty-A
Young Man Who Kept sep win lib
Not Brilliant Antecedents.
"Ta'kinc about poker said md
lie aged man to coteric at ChamDer-
Inns, "reminds me Of something that
occurred about 20 years ago at the Onl'
yersitv of Virginia. That was about the
Hyeliest epoch in the history CT the
university since the war, or for that
matter eff that before it, when the lie
led by the students is taken into con.
sideration. There was big crowd Oh
devil may care young men there Most
of them with plenty Of money, ana
they made Charlottesville and sur
rounding Albemarle fairly hum. 1heso
kindred spirits formed society which
took the name of Eli Bananas. y
Here the speaker smiled at evidently
amusing "reminiscences There IS no
telling what the Eli Bananas dldn' {
do. For the quintessence of mlschler
and devilment they took the laurels.
There was nothing downright bad about
them, but their antics were awful ran
tastic were the tricks they played and
grotesque their jokes. Between freaks
the Ills were prone to poker, and 1t was
customary down there Tor the players
to assemble at this or that student $
room. That brings me to my story. One
coterie of poker players comprised sous
Of some of the best known and wealth.
est men in the south, and into 1t was
introduced a young Nirginlan who was
gifted with many attractive traits appar-
emily, but whose antecedents were not
particularly brilliant. III call him Dick
Lurk, but that wasn't his name
"M0st Of the other fellows III the CO.
terie had rCGmnateS who were bOnlng
up for the final examinations. 1t was
we'll along in the spring, and Lurk had
quarters to himself Oh East Lawn. Con-
sequently the poker began TO be played
exclusively in his room. When the
evening seemed propitious, the word
would be passed around at supper that
three kentuck' would be in order, and
at O'Clock or thereabout the players
would assemble at Lurk S. Turks luck
was stupendous. He won steadily, and
as the game was pretty stiff his win
nings were substantial. 1t was noticed
after awhile that lie always passed out
when somebody had a particularly big
hand on somebody else's deal, but that
he always held a top hand when there
We're Zig ones out against each other on
his own deal. Then somebody noticed
that the seals We're always broken on
the half dozen new decks of cards pro-
vided each night before the game began
and that Lurk in dealing always closely
scrutiniZed the cards as he gave them
out.
AT last one night the son Of IA
nous Confederate general who now
lives in baltimore became Convinced
that Lurk was cheating. Picking up the
deck that Lurk had just dealt and out
of which he had got hand with four
queens against an ace full held by
young Kentcckian the young man said
quietly:
Some enc is cheating at this game,
and, Lurk, think it, you.
"Now, at the University Of Virginia
such declaration, if improved, meant
somebody's death to a certainty, and in
an instant tho party was on its feet.
just wait q minute gentlemen,
said the accuser quietly. I've been
watching this man. Let some one exam
inc the backs Of these cards with this
glass.
1.-The kentuckian took the glass and
closely scanned the geometrical designs
on the backs Of the cards.
BY Cpsar!' he calculated. Every
court card is distinctly marked!' Exam
lnation Ivy the other players quickly
proved the truth of this,
There Was a consultation over what
should lie done with Lurk, who stood
with head hung down, overwhelmed
with the proof against him. 1t was de.
clded that he was not worth calling out,
as be was not Il gentleman, end the yer.
dict was that he should make restitu-
ton OF all the money he had won since
his participation i'll the game and suffer
ostracism i'll the university. Io was
to sit down and write out a
check for all the money he had won,
the memorandum books of tho other
players showing the amounts they had
lost at various times, and he was kept
under surveillance until the Charlottes.
vile bank, in which he kept heavy
account, opened next morning. One of
the party rode down to Charlottesville
and cashed the check, and then the seu-
tence of ostracism went into effect
"Ihat fellow had the unheard of eff
to remain at the university TN
til the finals were completed He was
there six weeks. No student or professor
Or servant or townsman, no man or wo-
man, white or black, spoke to him Or
took any notice of him. He attended the
final balls, and no one recognized him.
tie was not quizzed in lecture room or
addressed by Il professor. Still he re-
manned until the university closed for
the season, but he might as we'll have
been III the middle of the Sahara desert
so lar as intercourse with people was
Washington Star