Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1900-09-23

him.
Il hail thee, stranger" says the old
fcuss as he looks down upon me with
tenderness and confidence.
"And hail to thee" says I, with all
my blandness.
i Art a weary, wayworn pilgrim, like
| MYSELF" he says as he gifts OFF his
/ mewl.
Il art" says 1 as l takes stock OF
| him.
Then my soul art rejoieed to meet
/ thee and hold converse. IT'S a cold
| and wicked world. fellow worker in
| the vineyard, and the labors of the few
| who travel about seekin to make man
! kind better are sometimes wearisome
| to the heart Dost love thy work?"
Il dost. AS you remark, the way is
rough and uneven, and the discourage
ments are many, but when / have
| made critter more happy than he was
before the glow in my soul is my re-
I ward
| Thou are good mana good man.
| he says as he reaches fur my hand
| ag'in. 81 am truly rejoiced that have
| found thee. What hast thou in that
| bottle?"
| can orphan grasshopper, whom
! found alone and being rebuffed by the
world and took him to my bosom, as it
was. Now and then l run across a
critter with favorite fightin bug, and
we make a match"
"And doth the grasshopper fight
well?"
! assGyvell enough to lick any lightweight
bug to be found in Oklahoma. He hath
won many plunks fur me, as the wick
ed call our dollars, and never yet has
he been licked. AS an orphan grass
hopper he has turned out daisy
"Um! I'm! And that dog under the
wagon?"
3An orphan also. | found him buck
ing alone against the world as l trav-
leled through Missouri. He tackles TO
win, and the shekels have bin many"
"Um! uni" murmured the benign
old man as his ears twitched little
and sigh escaped him lips. And that
boss and wsgcn?"
1.-TWO more orphans, Teller pilgrim,
says /. '0The world was Gown on that
boss and wouldn't gin him no show
when | picked him up and put graft
tude and ambishun into his respondent
(! heart. Twenty-six races has he won
!, fur me as we travelled through the
| wales and shadows and the end Is
! not yit The wagon is my tintype out
| fit Hevin spoken words of sympathy
| and cheer to my Teller men. | take
their tin types at 10 cents take
Truly, truly, but fur weary pilgrim
who is sacrificing himself fur the good
| of mankind you amt maxim bad
thing of it. Was you maxim ready to
go off to a camp meeting somewhere
when | arTove?'
K. Not exactly. But If there is one in
! this locality we will journey together"
"Um! I'm. I know not where camp
meetin is being held, and, this beln
week day. there is no preachin in the
! churches of Little Sodom. However,
the longer look at you the more evil
| dences of truth. virtue and humility
| rise to the surface, and / find myself
sayin that it cannot be possible you
, have ever heard of the sinful game OF
! poker"
"Only few times says l, as | tries
to look more humble than before. 1t
is played with keerds, believer
uni I'm! But 1t is
and the players speak of jack pots,
two pairs, threes, Pushes, straights and
other mysterious things?"
''Um, I'm! But they do"
'tAnd one of the ingredients of the
game is bluff, and you can call a hand
or go ten better?"
''Um, I'm! But thou hast heard not
/ little 1t is also so with me. In
travelling about on my worthy mission
| | have now and then seen wicked and
! reprehensible critters playin the game
! of poker. 1t always made me sorrow
| full. even though | watched the game.
| Would it be sinful fur you to show
me how the game runs?" says | in my
childish and innocent way.
| .'UTm, UNI, No, mebbe not, bein as you
are shielded by the armor of goodness.
| will show thee simply that thou mayest
! beware of it, As came this way found
| a pack of keerds on the highway. They
are old and greasy. but they will serve
| Sit thee down, Teller pilgrim, and If thou
| hast any money, produce it. Not that we
will gamble but that we will make the
scene as realistic as possible and strive to
penetrate the secret that seems to enthral
the very souls of the players
| Then We sat down and pulled a blanket
| over our legs, and from my hind pocket
| produced my wad of greenbacks. The
| eyes of the old pilgrim sparkied as he saw
| the coin, and in his soul he planned that
/ should be numbered with the seooped.
He showed me how to deal and explained
| the value of the hands. and he won my
gratitude by his paternai interest. OF
surety he did scoop me out of go. which
he pocketed with q bland smile and a
moral lecture ag'in the sin OF gambiin.
but / was as a wolf hiIin' in the grass
When the time arrived that ! saw four,
jacks in my hand. / saw his bets and
| feared not his bluffs, and he riz up a dead
broke man. Over 80 cold dollars did take
| from his worldly wealth and added TO my
| own When he found that he had been
| fip-fiopped he stood of and looked at me
| fur long time with eyes In which tire
were no tears. BY and by he said.
Pilgrim, thou art fraud and de-
| ceiver. and 1t is ny duty as child Of
humility 10 teach thee morality
Il wouIdst know how II is says I. and
he came fur me to instruct me
! IN three minutes he was licked man.
/ and as he mounted his mewl to ride On TO
meet with ot.er adventures, winks at
my orphan grasshopper and my hghtin'
dog and excIaims to myself:
.sHe who goeth out to shear may snip
Il cog and come hack without any woo1
\ under Ill arxn! c|sset + vlrtuol