The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-07-15

centage against the cutting player for | that deal. Hunter waited for fifteen minutes before it came Matterson's turn l to cut. That was the agreed moment.
 As soon as the layout was made Hun | ter bet twenty-five hundred dollars on the | queen of clubs against deuce of dia- | monds. The dealer paused as the bet 1 was called, methodically counted the | roll, found 1t correct and began to pull
 the cards. Queen won.
 Hunter was paid, stuffed the money 1 in his pocket and rose with the remark | that he was no hog and had enough.
 Here Mattherson's nerve failed him | slightly. He should have sat still, but
 he rose also. Now the dealer, an old
 gambler, knew that he had been robbed. | That fact stuck out like sore thumb. But he did not know how it had been
 done and, not knowing he could not ob-
 ject. He looked steadily at the two men, bowed his head gravely and said in Spanish:
 "'Senores Americanos, very we'll done
 very well done, indeedn
 Full of glee, Hunter and Matterson came to me at the Hotel Iturbide, showed me their wealth and told me how it was done. The thing was ingen- ious but absurdly simple. All Mexican
 monte decks have backs of the same
 pattern. I think that the cards are
 made by the same firm. Matterson had
 bought a deck and fixed it to suit him. self He had a large, heavy red silk
 handkerchief. He bent four pins and
 stuck them into the corners of this
 handkerchief While sitting at the ta-
 ble he had taken the handkerchief from
 his pocket and fastened it by the four corners to the inside of his trouser legs, making himself an artificial lap. When it came his turn to cut he merely sub- stituted his own for the dealers deck, handed his deck to the dealer, and, with a single motion of his hand emptied the dealers cards into the handkerchief. While all eyes were intent upon Hun ters bet, Matterson had unlocked the handkerchief, wadded it up with the cards in it, and stuck the whole business into his pocket. He had rung in cold deck"
 The one-legged brakeman, who had been impatiently waiting chance to break in, said: Them Mexikins ain't got no sense. heard onct of alcalde in the little town of Valaderas, out in Noovo Leon, close to the narrer gauge There was hole five feet deep an six feet across in the middle O tn only street, and some Amerikins that hap pened along asked him wy he did't fill it up. The hole had been there fur fifty | years, an he hadn't never thought of fixin' it, but he said it wouldn't be a bad idee. So he set some peons to work. Under his bossin' they dug hole in front O tn old hole an threw in tn dirt. | When they got through tn old hole was full an they had new hole. They had | to fill thet hole up, an they did 1t in the same way. They kep' this up for two | months, workin slow, in Mexikin fash ion, an layin off on feast days. They alters had hole to spare, but it didn't bother 'em any. Finerly they got out into tn country an quit with big hole in tn middle O tn road, but thet weren't any O tn alcalde's concern. guess he's tn only man alive thet ever dug a hole out O town"
 'I suppose that will be about all said the conductor, and the railroad men went home.--New York Sun