The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-11-20
Backed the Ace Without a Cent In
His Pocket.
HE WAS A TENDERFooT
AND THE DEALER WAS A VERY
BAD MAN.
Luckily the Youth Made Hit and
Got Loan of S1OO-A Story of
Brazsn Courage In Western Min
ing Camp.
Cwashington starr

ny OpeninS- JdckpolS iu- Ddu CoinpdiiS
without having the openers to go in
WITH, said a man from Denver. and of
some of them winning out on daring and
crooked plays like that: but for real
nerve in a pay. of similar sort. TRICK
that / once saw a tendertoot turn was
not a check shy of the limit. 1t was wfien
Curly Gorham, who was snot 10 nlnoers
by four deputy marshals back in 1Sss, was
dealing his own flyer faro game in Dur
ango. Colo, in 1881. Gorham was an ugly,
savage chap. with pretty nearly as mq &c,
dian didn't show particle IN ms features
and he had killed plenty of men in ar
ferent parts of the southwest before ne
struck Durango with his flyer bank lay
out. 1t was said of him, with truth, too,
I've no doubt. that he hadn't killed some
of his victims on the level and when he
got into Durango and set up MS game ne
was looked. upon by all hands--and Dur
ango wasn't peopled by cutters. either,
at that time--aS a chap who d be liable TO
take some advantages in mix-up. lie
square. and he had plenty OF play. he
did most of the dealing himself, and he
often dealt without the services or d
lookout. so eagle-eyed was he in watch
ing every move made on the board. he
got into several arguments with chaps
who were bucking his game before the
thing happened that 1 m going 10 tell you
about, and every time the other man had
10 back out the door with his hands
pointing up in the air-for Gorham had
one OF the SuuQenGSt ways OIL getting the
drop on folks that ever / met with. No
man that he ever had an argument with
over the way the cards came out OF the
box was ever permitted to do any buck
ing at his table again, and no man ever
did any welching on him-that is. asked
for markers. and then, when the cards
came out the wrong way. discovered that
he didn't have the funds wherewith to
make good 1t wasn't deemed wise even
by men who knew how to shoot quick
wit both hands to try any such stalls on
Curly Gorham.
well. there was a young chap struck
Durango from Chicago who didn't know
any more about gunwork than he did
about roping steers but who had knack
of slowing away wine at s. per quart that
beat anything Durango had ever seen
previous TO his arrival. What he was do
ing in Durango nobody knew. / guess he
didn't know himself. He had LANDED there
with about $1,000 which laster him fully
three days He hadn't gone up against
a single gambling game in order to go
broke so suddenly, but he was a basket
. orderer from the foothills. and even a
thousand doesn't cut much of a figure
when each of the bottles costs IS per.
The young fellow, whose name was Slo-
cum. blew lot Of Durango hangers-on
off 10 the French Juice until he was
broke. and then he went, TO his hotel and
took a sleep over it,. He was kid of
about II or %. slender, srnOoth-faced and
boyish looking and he was logged out in
tenderfoot raiment that had AL stamped
all over it from the beginning TO the finish
of his play
He woke up at his hotel without the
price of an eye-opener at the wind-up of
his three-day whirl. He wasn't the kind
of a chap who'd attempt 10 make a Dor
row from the fellows who had helped MIN
to go broke. but he fixed himself out with
a shave and hot tOwe-s. and came down.
stairs looking as spick-and-span and cool
as If he had another horse collar wad to
blow in. 1t was about clock at night
when he showed up.
:. I think III see if can't make a little
cIerk' wh n DA there re S bank: '"e no'e'
- Well, there's Curly Gorham's across
the way, for one, the clerk told him.
You don't want to get tangled up with
to make a lunch of you, with tabasco
sauce.
Bad. eh?' the tenderfoot asked the
clerk.
.Pisen. said the latter. Real pisen.'
Is this game on the level?' the kid
asked the clark.
q Yes: can vouch for that end of it,
Well Til do as good as any re-
marked the 'tenderfoot, and he stIoiled
over to Curly Gorham's layout. He had
never been in there before, and Gorham
had never seen him.
When he walked in. besides the six or
seven men sitting around the table at
which Gorham was dealing. there were
half a dozen men standing behind the
chairs dropping bets down at random on
cards they liked. Occasionally. when
these ISLANDERS. COuIQnt re3cn the CarJS
they wanted to put their gold on they'd
say to Gorham, Curly, just put marker
for such-and-such an amount on the king
Cor whatever card they wanted for me-
and if they lost they'd toss the gold over
to Curly. None of them failed to have
the gold to toss over 10 him, you may
believe.
The tenderfoot from Chicago walked
up behind the crowd of men standing
back of the chairs and peerei over the
shoulders of one of them in order to have
drsf obi .xa.frf
down in front of him. He studied the
card for Il moment, and then he looked
straight at Gorham. who was halted with
his finger on the card in the box, wait
ing for all bets TO he laid down.
Just put a marker on the ace to win
a hundred for me- will your said the
tenderfoot 10 Gorham.
''Gorham looked up at the kid, whose
face was new TO him. and nodded He
put the copper on the ace The next
turn brought the ace out on the losing
side The terderfoot didn't bat an eye.
by Jove. said he. cooliy. yawning and
stretching. luck certainly is ag in me. as
it were. can't even win bet when L
make one for fun.
..Gorham looked up at him peculiarly.
doubling whether the .tenderfoot was foo,-
ing or in earnest.
/ said replied the tenderfeot. with
all the complaisance in life. that even
when bet for fun l can't seem to get the
coin
.Gorham 5 face darkened. and sort o.
spontaneously all the men who were
standing alongside the tenderfoot edged
away. They thought they shifted some
thing coming. 80
Where's your hundred for this mark
err inquired Gorham. Ticking of the
marker from the ace:
1.-The hundred? said the kid, in u Won
dering kind of way; Il thought just told
YOU | made that bet just for fun. to see if
there was anything doing in the way OF
luck for me.
Just then every man-jack sitting at the
table hoped up from his chair and gave
way. 1t looked like case of dead tender
foot and they didn't want to be in knife
or gun range. Gorham studied the kid
intently for moment. his features work
ing with wrath. The boy stodd looking
back al him with his hands in his pockets.
After about thirty pretty quiet seconds of
this Gorham's dark face broke into
s.--s,e.
Son. he said. amusedly. siill smiling.
YOU make hit with me. and you win
out on this Take thess-reaching into
the drawer and pulling out five so gold
pieces-'and see what you can do with
them down the block and he handed the
tenderfoot the hundred The tenderfoot
took the coins with muttered word of
thanks. went down the block to another
layout won $500. paid Gorham back, and
had that evil proposition for a stanch
friend as long as ne remained in Duran
CO..