Arizona republican., 1899-12-05
JIM LANES
 LOSS OF NERVE


 the little man with scrubby beard as he threw down q winning king full and raked in the stack of chips from the middle of the table.
 Who's he?" asked a man across the table.
 Jim Lane answered the first speak CT. was the nerviest and best gambler in all probability who ever stacked a deck of cards in this great and glorious poker-p playing country. He knows everytrick that was ever played with cards and can work those same tricks better than any other man I ever saw or heard of I don't mean sleight-o hand tricks: I mean the regular pro- fessionaI gamblers trick, the tricks that are played to win money dishon- estly. He must be 35 years old if he's a day. but you wouldn't think it if you put your eyes on him. He's got little thin boyish face, and a light mustache that will never grow any larger than it is, and altogether he has about the most innocent appearance you would strike from New York to Frisco. I've crossed the continent by stages, win
 
 game, and I never saw his equal in the lamb-like innocent way. But oh. how that little fellow has fooled the best of them! In fact. I think he was only caught at the game once and then the man who caught him didn't dare to sqreal because he was working the same Identical game. Jack Hale, who was known all over the west as Dopey r.,1a l,f Lane lost his nIIVe. He never got it back, either.
 Lane was a natural born gambler He couldn't keep away from the cards just the same as an opium fiend hangs onto his dope. It's disease. An old uncle down in San Bernardino county had died and the bulk of his fair-sized pile went to Jim. The young fellow started in to spend it right and left, un- til he struck a stiff poker game at the old Fleming house in Frisco one night There were lot of slick guys in the game and they let the young chap win enough the first night to get the fevet in his blood; the next night they made his pile look sick, and the rest of the week they kept him busy writing out checks to square himself. Then the gang who had feeced him left town.
 "A bartender in the house tipped him off one night as to the character of the people who had got into his roll. He went home and thought it all over. He thought it all over many times. and the next night he ran across one of the guys who had been in the game.
 Come up to my room," said Lane: - have got something I want to show you.''
 'The other fellow went along. Lane took him up to the room and then. shutting the door, pulled out revolver and said he wanted to know something. The other guy put up a kick when the gun was flashed on him, but Lane quickly made himself understood.
 You and your crowd of thieves said Lane. have got away with my pile. That's all right. I got the ex- perience, even if did have to pay for II. Now I'm going to get some of that money back. You just sit down and teach me how to deal cards so I can win.
 The guy sat down and for twelve solid hours those two fellows did noth- ing but shuffie and deal cards The slick guy dealt seconds, stacked the deck in sixteen different ways. marked cards. as he played them, and in just about nine times out of ten he would fool Lane completely. Then he began to explain all the tricks He sharpened Lanes thumb nail so that he could mark the cards and filed off the skin of his thumb so he could feel the marked cards as they came out of the deck. Lane proved to be an easy gambler. and when his teacher left him that night he had learned the manipulatiou of every trick known to the gamblers trade. Then he started in to practice them and he spent weeks and weeks in dealing out imaginary hands of poker. Then he started out to play a little. He didn't have enough confidence at first to try any of his games when playing but he invariably practised marking the cards. A good gambler, have been told, can mark all of the big cards in the pack within twenty minutes after the first hand is dealt. Lane told me that he could beat that. and I believe him.
 By and by he started in to deal him sell some of the marked cards and he lnVarlaply won. as he played in games "ANiC AC was lIle OIlly QlSnOneSt man. lis nerve came with his success and in year or two he was like a veteran. He played like flash of lightning and never aroused a suspicion by his ac- tions. He simply toyed with plungers who ran up against him.
 One night he sat down in a game in which rough looking fellow with a sharp nose and sleepy eyes was play ing. Jim didn't pay much attention to him at first, but he never forgot that game. He didn't know it then. but he was playing with Dopey Jack Hale mere were several young Frisco fel- lows in the game. Jim started in to play in his usual manner. The first king that he got in his hand was the king Of diamonds, and he immediate ly punched the sharp corner of his thumb nail into both ends of the card. The very next hand the deal came