Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1900-05-12
HE BET ON THE SEVEN
A GAMBLERS SCHEME THAT WORK
ED WELL FOR AWHILE.

He Forgot One Very Important
Thing, However, ans His Last
PlunEinE Wager Brought Ruiz
aud Tragedy In ITS wake.
A gentleman who lives in the Blue
Grass and who has been a very ex.
tensive traveller has q silver service so
magnificent in design and heavy in
weight that its peers in the whole
world may be numbered ON tho fingers
of one hand. The owner is even now,
when past middle age, d good fellow"
who loves conviviallty, and no game is
too hazardous for him IL he has the
amount of the stakes. lie takes pleas
ure in telling the history Of his serv-
ice, as 1t concerns the most audacious
game of chance lie ever witnessed.
when l was in Bolivia some years
ago." he always begins, Il got In with
a crowd of men, English and natives,
whose passion for gambling knew no
bounds. Strange as it may seem, none
of them knew poker, aud made my
self solid with them by teaching them,
but their great game was roulette.
"There was a little shop in Bogotn,
where they had miniature Monte
Carlo, and many nights did we spend
around the great wheel, with our mon
ey and prospects hanging OH the black
or red. The wheel was entirely made
Of wood, and whenit was spun around
a cover was put oyer the machine so
that they could keep on betting when
1t had ceased to turn.
"There is o worm down there In
that climate that gets into furniture
and bores until nothing but a shell is
left. You may sit on a chair that
looks perfectly strong, but at the first
touch it collapses. This seems irrelc-
want, but 1t is not. as you may sc
later. In fact, that worm plays the
title role in the tragedy am going TO
tell.
'"There was wealthy Bolivian plant
er who had been general In the war
between Bolivia and Chile back in the
early eighties. He was never absent
night from our games, but he would
frequently stand about fora week and
never make bet larger than $40
Then he would suddenly cry out just
MS the operator was about to lift the
cover and register the highest bet the
house would permit. Next he would
place all the money lie could find TAX
ers for among the gentlemen present
Before the season was far advanced
he had won great sums, and we had
all felt the results of his freakish luck
1t seemed that when hQ played +
black he could not lose, and he seemed
to realize it, for when he did call that
number he would put all lie owned IN
the balance.
"Still he was gentleman and a fa
nous duelist, and no one cared tt
question his methods. 1t went on thiS
way for two months. Then one nigh
the wheel stopped, AND there was the
silence Of the praries in the room
We could hear the ball fall into the
compartment distinctly. We, coult
hear the distant tlnSlng Of mandolin
The planter leaped up as from cata
lepsy: 'Seven-black, senores. vii
take all any of you or all of you vii
bet Well. had been winning stronl
and was SO much TO the good that
was reckless
"Five dollars | said.
"'Good, senor,' he replied.
"He placed his entire fortune In diff
| fcrent wagers There We're D number
of strangers present. and they nj
seemed big flush. Then slowly. as {
priest officiating at some solemn. bar
barrie ceremony, the banker removed
the top. We all stood for moment
and the tension was such that a car
rlage wheel on the cobhlestones out
side made us all start. Red. cam'
the announcement.
"rhe Bolivian was white as snow
but his voice was uusbaken as he said
Gentlemen, you shall all be paid. A
for me, am ruined
"rhat night he shot himself, and hi
WILL which had been written just be
fore his death, arranged for the pay
ment OF all his debts. was to re
ceive the service for my share. thougl
It is worth much more. But what
valued much more than that was {
note in which he expressed his attach
ment for me and asked me to accep
the silver as gift and not n debt.
Gle left also a curious manuscript
written some time before, which seem
ed TO be n sort of private Journal Ill
stated In this that his ears were -
accurate that he could detect the dit
ference between the fall of pin and
needle. One night, so he says. he hear'
the ball fall into the compartment wit
hollow thud. and when tue machin
was opened he made note of the mum
Der and color. T-blnck.' Lnter, whel
alone for moment he found that tn
aforesaid worm had bored under tina
compartment. He sounded the eNcava
ton with straw and found that
extended no farther ethan that on
number. Then all he had 10 do wa
to listen and when his acute hearin
told him that his number had come t
get all the money possible on II.
"Yes, gentlemen, he had all his plan
laid to perfection. There wns only on
weak spot In his calculations. He fol
got that those worms could keep o.
boring" Louisville Evening Post.
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81. Helena,