Morning appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1877-1906, 1899-03-28
FARO PALMrSTPY.
A Good COnstock Story by Well. Drury.

Wells Drury, formerly of this city.
tells the following good story in Tues
days Examiner:
i make no pretense of being much
OF a palmistry expert in the modern
acceptance Of that phrase, but I can
tell whether a man is a thief or not as
soon as see him handle his chips at a
faro game, said Colonel X B. Brown,
the retired chief OF the Virginia City
lire department., who. before holding
that exalted position. won social and
financial standing in the Comstock
community as a high roller in front of
and behind the faro layout.
You'd be surprised to know how
many mel are subject to temptation
that way" added the Colonel, land
only the dealer and HE lockout get an
insight into this pla~e OF human char
acter. You see. most ofsthe PLAYERS
are busy with their own Jay, and so
have no chance to think Of what
others are doing. for which reason
they miss the little episodes that are
noted by the men behind the box.
Now. you must understand that |
DO not accuse every man of being a
thief just because he picks up a sleeper
once in awhile, for that is part Of the
game, as 1t helps 10 even up what be is
likely TO lore in L similar way: that is
by forgetting some of his stacks and
letting them 90 by default on i dead
card. which makes them lawful prev
by light Of discovery to the first man
who detects their orphen condition.
hen | speak OF such temptations |
refer to the way some people have OF
Systematically trying to separate fell
low-playe"s from their checks.
Close observation in this regard
once proved Of value to me. for it saved
to me a snug fraction Of my bank-roll
and nobody eye knew how I got onto
the combination. It happened along
in the EOS when I was dealing in Dick
Browns Silver State saloon near the ,
divide between Virginia and Gold Hill. .
/ " X 1 "ii4i4E tot HiGllC SiINiL ana mad ;
Just relieved Long Brown. the day
man, when | saw one of the ieadino
ck-brokers of the place take a seat
and pay in for SOC worth OF checks. /
He was not a FREQ uent visitor at our
place. but as | had placed a small sec
ito OF my stock account with his firm
he probably thought that reciprocity
demanded that he should bc.tew CA us
part Of his patronage. had never
watched him closely but there was
something about the shape of bis hands
and his way of clutchiGg his checks
that | didn't like and almost his first
motion aroused my suspicion, and from
that moment | kept a close scrutiny on
his doings. The movement hat
caused me to think he was not all
right was when he touched q stack of
reds tina were heeled from the nine
taxing the sever to win. At first he
only jumbled the checks as he placed
anotherst stack OF exactly the same color
and value heeled from the ten for the
eight TO win. With careless ease he
strengthened up the checks and gently
tapped them as with the hand of an
owner. After the next turn he again
touched them, as if by accident. this
time knocking of the copper and let
ting the bet go straight for both cards.
1t WAS IA swift but easy movement bv
which he showed that stack of checks
between the nine and eight. and from
to the four OF the other side of
the board.
wv hat became Of my bet on the
nine: roared a young fellow called
Ike Fulst. 4 few minutes later. but no.
BODY seemed able to say, except 10 in
innate that he had switched and lost
on some other card or that he WAS
sinking on himself.
My broker friend won as if pursued ,
by a demon of good luck. vet once 7
more | saw him chase Ike's checks into
his pile in the same ingenious way.
he change was so gradual that only {
a person hat is posted on the scheme |
,ouid detect it. Just before midnipht :
WhIp-saWed' me. ana as | paid both =
MS RED stacks, | showed them over TO
telling him that they we're his.