The age-herald., 1900-07-08

little back rooms Of the club They rockea along for several hours without doing much damage one way or the other when sud- denly an exciting tussle began over jack pot.
 Tn few minutes the man who opened 1t dropped out, followed by one of the oth- CTS, leaving the relqaining two players to fight for the spells. One of them was bookmaker from Syracuse, N. Y, who used to be a partner in famous art gal lery' bar. I don't care to identify them any closer than that. The Chicago man began the trouble by betting Sl00 which the New Yorker saw and raised $25O. The book maker came back with a thousand and when he counted out the money he no- ticed that he had about exhausted his roll That oversizes me, said the Syracuse man. I haven't got a thousand or quar- ter of it in my leather, but if you'll give me half an hour to go out and rustic II stay with you till the cows come nome. Well, the proposition as the story goes, was accepted, and the question then arose as to what should be done in the meantime with the two hands. It was finally sug- gested to lay them face downward on the table and fasten them there with sealing wax. The idea seemed good and was adopt ed.
 "A dab of melted wax was dropped at the corners of each of the pasteboards and both players stamped the seals with pri- Vate marks. The New Yorker used cameo ring and the other simply made an impress sion with his thumb. The money on the table was locked in the safe, and both men thereupon rushed out to replenish agreeing on an hours limit.
 Now comes the queer part of the story The boolmeker went straight to personal friend who was proprietor of a certain DE gambling house. and borrowed $2o0o' lie started buck on dead run with the money in his hand, and while crossing the street was knocked down by a cab. One or the front wheels passed over his shoulder anu he was picked up unconscious and taken 10 a hospital. Meanwhile the other player had hunted up a wealthy distiler of his ac- quaintance, told him in strict confidence what he had, and was on the point ol secuI- ing a loan when constable walked up anu arrested him on a charge of swindling. The case had grown out of some race track transaction, and there was really nothing to it, but it was enough to give him con- siderable annoyance, and it was late at night before he succeeded in fixing up O bond Next day the conditioH of the book maker was still very serious, and, as neith- CT man had returned within the hour, his friends insisted that the poker affair should stand just as it was until he got better. The Syracuse man wanted the stakes taken down, but the others would not agree, and a week or so later he was obliged to go home on business Meanwhile the table was locked in the card room and nobody was allowed to go near it. When the book maker was able to talk he protested ve- hemently against any division of the money.
 " Let that game stand until 1 can go and play my hand out he sad but he was never able to do it, and after lingering nearly half a year he suddenly got pneu- monia and died. Less than a week after the Syracuse man was accidentally drowned bathing friends off Long Island. That left things in very peculiar situation. The manager of the club wanted to divide the money in the safe between the two estates, but the bookmakers brother who was his eXecutor, objected vigorously, insisting that the last bet had never been called, and consequently the New Yorker had lost. Then the dis tiller, who had agreed to back his Syracuse friend, offered to make the call good, and the two original players who had dropped out and who were still in the city began to clamor for the return of their money, amounting to about $50 apiece, on the ground that everything should be declared off on general principles. Altogether it was the worst mixed up affair that ever hap pened.
 Finally the matter was left by agree ment, to a prominent Louisville business man who knew nothing about cards, but had high reputation for honesty and com- mon sense. He declared that the two play CTS who had dropped out had no claim on the pot and as nobody could remember how the preliminary betting had stood, that two-thirds of the lump should go to the representa- tives of the bookmaker and one third to the estate of the New YorkCz. To prevent endless debates and squabbles in future, he also directed that the cards should be removed from the cloth, face down, and destroyed without exposure These instructions were carried out to the letter, although it nearly broke the hearts of numerous friends of both parties not to get a look at the two hands. The cards were carefully detached, one by one, and burned in the grate without being turned over."