The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1901-01-11
GAMBLER HAD
A SURE THING,
Marked Cards With Invisible
Ink and Took tho POis.
INCIDENT On OCEAN LINER.
Professional "WsIshel' UisgGg,a Eoaey
When CsnITsalsa Win His Ci.GT Ras-
elilB IuItmla Tells Ex3sIisace
INCIDENT ON OCEAN LINER.


the other evening of an adventure on a
cunarder. You never heard OF invisible
ink?' he said. We'll. neither had / up
TO dozen years ago. and my mtroduc-
tion to II was rather peculiar.
AT that time was considerably green
or I'm the ways OF the wicked world than
| ] am at present, and coming across on
the Etruria. after season in London. 1
was fool enough to sit in a four-handed
poker game with three fellows | met in
the smoking room of the ship.
The vulnerable point about any green
horn who plays poker Is his proud conyic-
| tlon that he can protect himself against
! opinion, and consequently didn't care a
copper who. my three acquaintances
might be, as long as found their society
| entertaining.
"Two OF them, I may as well say right
here, were plain, every day business men
| from Boston. The other was a small.
dark. smooth-shaven chap who introduc-
ed himself by the name Of Cummings.
and said he was a lace buyer for firm
of importers in New York.
I'VE began playing on tho second day
out of Liverpool, and inside of "A hours
were giving the game pretty nearly our
exclusive attention. Tho table we used
was In the far corner of the smoking
room and had four stationary chairs.
"As 10 customary about ship, We select
ed our seats at the beginning, and kept
them throughout the play. Cummings
sat with his back to the partition wall.
] sat opposite. and one of the Boston fell
lows was on either side.
II mention this arrangement because IL
has a bearing on what followed.
SAW METALLIC sPEcK.
I'VE started out at a very easy gait"
continued the turfman, "but soon raised
the ante high enough TO make IL pretty
warm. AS far as 1 could see, none OF my
three friends played more than an ordi-
| nary clubroom game. and at the outset
| the bulk OF the luck drifted TO the lace
| buyer and myself.
AT the end OF the first day we were
| each about $50 ahead. Next day l made
| most OF the winnings myself and was az
| tonished at the succession OF good hands
1 held. AS nearly al l can remember 1
cleared up something like siOO. mainly
| from the two Boston men. and Cummings
quit about even.
Several times during the day I i'm
agined the Bostonisns looked at me with
some slight suspicion, all of which afford
cd me considerable amusement and satis-
fled me incidentally that the game was
absolutely on the square.
"On the third day luck veered around
TO the lace buyer, and he not only gath
cred in my entire winnings, but nearly
fQDA H. 4 -
the Bostonians for $500 and the other for
$780,
Altogether he stood about 1920 ahead
at the close of the afternoon. BY that time
| we were all pretty well tagged out. and
we agreed 10 quit for a couple Of hours
and resume the play after dinner.
Cummings left the table first, and I
| tarried for a few moments TO smoke q
| cigar and chat with the Boston men.
Il had to get up TO procure light and
| on returning I dropped into the chair
| which had been occupied by tho lace buy
| er and began idly shufring tho deck OF
| cards
While so doing / happened TO notice
| a peculiar metallic speck at the upper
| riKht-hand corner of the top pasteboard,
| which proved TO he the king of clubs II
| looked like a minute dot OF some kind OF
| analine ink
The end OF the room where we sat was
rather dark and there was a fixed lamp
| I'm the molding behind Cummings' chair
that was kept burning day and night.
"The spot caught the gleam from this
| light and could only be seen when the
card WAS held at certain slant.
GAVE UP THE MONEY.
From any OF the other chairs Il was
| entirely invisible. / was surprised, OF
| course and in running over the deck I
| soon found that all the face cards and
aces were similarly spotted, some with
more dots. the arrangement being differ
ent In each case.
"The discovery upset me completely.
| and I could sec n was an equal bomhshell
to my two companions. We laid our heads
| together, and. To make long story short.
| We sent q stewart after our lace making
| friend. and after n very brief but spicy
preface gave i'm two minutes by the
watch 10 disgorge his spoils
81 must admit he carried IL of pretty
well 'Ths looks considerably like a
welsh, he said coolly. and II the deck Is
! marked know no more about ~ than
| you do. However, if you want your mon
| ey back YOU can have t.
| "a gentleman, said he, always wishes
| 10 avoid scene With that hs counted
out his winnings and bade MS good night.
"A year or two afterward saw him at
| Saratoga, and learned positively that he
was a professional short-card player. who
| made business OF working the Atlantic
| boats
'''ro get back 10 the original point. the
! stun he used in marking the deck was
! what n known as Invisbl. Ink and
\ while Il is seldom employed nowadays.
| ~ can stll be Sought from any dealer
I In gambling tools.
"It has the peculiar property ~ being
visible only by artificial light and when
| viewed from q certain angle.
] How and when Cummings did HIS
marking and why he left the deck on the
table arc matters OF mere conjecture
| Letting me win the other fellows mon
ey al the stsrting-off and then winding
| me up at the finish n easily understood.
| It's an old gambling trick and diverts
suspicion