Arizona republican., 1899-06-06
POKER IN A HEARSE
Two Days After it a New Un-
 dertdker Came 10 Town.
There Was a Storm, and So inc Undertaken and His Guest, inc Drummer, Preferred to Ride In- side-The Old Undertaken Lost.

1 the retired tQrfman, did I ever tell
 you how a good poker player won an
 undertaker's whole establishment enc
 night while riding home from a funer-
 al in a hearse?'
 This YVES a proposition that the
 gamblers had never gone up against, but they were willing to hear the tale. The retired turfman vouched for it's truth.
 This all happened years ago." he said, and I got the story from the Out where I lived there was not much of town. No pretensicns were made for style, but a number Of old ariscO- cratic families had their being with us. These families were short on funds,
 but they were still playing the limit on style, and they showed it in the matter of funeral When a member of one of them died an undertaken from Greentown, fifteen miles distant. was summoned to bury him, and he generally did it in style. Well, one day old Colonel Badger died. He had been a politician and had amassed considerable wealth and lost it all in bad speculations. His people wanted to bury him with more or less show, and sc the funeral director from Greentown was summoned by wire. He came handled the funeral in great shape, and got the body buried in the afternoon just before a big thunder storm swept over the town. He eX- pected to remain over night in the town, and was comfortably quartered at the hotel early in the evening when his assistant at Greentown telegraphed to him to hurry home for another funeral. So he had to go that night. The storm was spent, though the hea- vens were dark and gloomy and an- other spell of lightning and rain was not unexpected. While the negroes in the stable were hitching the horses to the hearse a young man who was at the hotel, drummer, said he had missed his train out and would like to make Greentown that night so he could finish his work and leave early in the morning. The embalming art ist offered him a seat on the hearse.
 It's net the kind of train 1 usually take said the drummer, but 1 want to reach your city, and if three of us can crowd on the seat I will risk it.
 When the hearse was driven up 10 the hotel porch the guests amb!ed out
 
 his trappings and the drummer had his grips. There was a lot of joking, and a moment later the death carriage rattled eff through the sand.
 ''The night was dark and stormy. Five miles out drops of rain began falling and rumblings of thunder made the drummer shove further on tue seat. The undertaken suggested that they 50 inside to escape the drench- ing which was certain to come, and | the drummer consented The driver had 9 stack of coats to keep himself 1 dry. Just after the two men crawled | in the hearse the rain began to come | down in torrents. The passengers had | a lantern. though they could not feel | THe drummer opened | his satchel and brought out flask He offered it to the undertaken, who | took heavy swig and then passed it back. The drummer finished it. As | he fumb.ed with his grip a deck of | cards fell out
 'Whew!' remarked the funeral di- rector. <Whiskey and cards in a hearse at midnight, almost.'
 Well, to show our nerve said the drummer, we might play bit here just to talk Of it afterward. You can take those coffin nails there in the box for chips, and I'll gamble that well have a story to tell at Green own tomorrow, provided we get there alive. It would be funny, though, to see an undertaken die in his own 1earse.'
 '"The road was not bad and the learse jolted but little. The drummer Ook 3 cardboard box and turned out l handful of small sized coffin nails lot cigarettes, young man, but the real hings. He divided the pile evenly, , md then offered to make each nail worth nickel
 At the most he said, you can't ose more than you buried in your pocket from your jcb today
 ''The undertaken went into the game imply for the novelty of the thing. He lad been accustomed to many grue- ome sights, but his hands tremOled very time he fingered the cards. He ; played in luck, however, and soon the nils cllnked alone cn his side of the learse. The drummer bought another handful and then played to win. He .ot the gravedigger's luck, and in less { ime than he had lost before he had EOn every nail Then the director did ' he buying and he worked hard to pull p, but luck was against him and he Tas soon buying again. When he lost his stack he bought more, like man, [ nd offered to raise the stakes. |" We are pulling for home nOw,' he aid, and we might have a hot finish. f Ve can keep this game going until we | ee the lights at GreentOwn. If you { ant to we can play fer table stakes. I we got a wad of money as big as your C cad in my clothes, and if you are the g est man, why, then, you can take it. z 'The drummer accepted the propo- { ition. He pulled forth a purse which l ras unusually large for man of his usiness. The rain was still rattliEg { n the glass of the wagon as the new ! anne began. For time the playing Ias steady, with the Jest of the luck oing to the traveller. The men wera -rangers, but the undertaken did not aspect anything wrong in the play, 1r it was on his deals that he lost c lCst The drummer was game to the .