The Savannah morning news., 1901-12-22
Ar EXPIRE SsiNE.
CLOWN his JOKES
SuPPL.Eo az PnerosnApH

Fancy man gambling with his eyes
his glass eye!
1t was in a restaurant of the Bowery
that Jack" Davis was found gainb-
ling with his make-be believe optic. There
stood about him such a group as usu-
ally surrounds men who are playing
cards or checkers in a public place.
They seemed only-to he concerned
about the outcome of tlsS wager. In
terest in the peculiar article which was
used for playing the game they APP
peared to have lived down.
Davis had Just picked up the glass
eye from the table. He snapped it
between his thumb and the middle fin
ger Of his hand, and it slid across the
table.
II confess to feeling a little nervous
for the safety Of the eye as it shot
from Davis hand" said the man de-
scribing the scene. II was sure that
the impetus which had been given it
would hurl 1t upon the floor. But 1t
didn't; and that was relief enough for
me.
Davis, however, seemed dissatisfied
with the effort, and he INDUCED in
swapping his fingers to relieve his feel
ings. This demonstration over, Davis
took up his glass eye again.
"Once more he snapped 1t as before.
This time to my amaZement it slid to
about quarters of the distance
across the table and then stood UP on
end, The feat lay in the twist.
Davis, without saying a word, emp
tied the money which was in dirty
little pine domino box on the table,
put it into his pocket, replaced the
glass eye in its socket, crossed his legs,
and lighted a cigar"
How in the world do you do that?"
Davis was asked
He winked with the only eye that
was capable of shutting off his vision,
and then he said:
Il was having a pretty good week
about year ago when one night there
was in the crowd of men who hung
about me one-eyed man. My trick as
tonished him. If / could make money
in that way, why couldn't he?
'sHe hadn't cared much about hav-
ing a glass eye until then, but after
that he wanted one badly. BY telling
some 'softy' how his deformity inter
fered with his getting work, and how
everything would be renedied IL he
could get one, he succeeded in Undue
ing him to pony up
1.-The fellow was a thief, and when
he went into the store to have a glass
eye fitted he stole handful Of all
kinds of eyes--lions' eyes, eats eyes,
deer's eyes.
Zone night as / was playing for a
good stake a fellow came UP to me
who offered to bet me hundred that
he could bring me a man who could
beat me al my own game. I'm too
much of a sport to let anything like
that pass by.
THE night of the contest arrived
in due time. The stake was for
hundred. 1 never thought until that
night that 1 was nervous. 1 paid a
hundred to find out that was.
Il started playing with the fellow
without looking at him very closely.
He had the stuff, and had put 1t up.
This trick Of Swapping an eye is not
one in which appearances count--you
have to be able to deliver the goods.
So l didn't take a square look at the
fellows face until he said something.
Then when looked at him 1 discov-
cred that he had the worst-looking eye
in his head that 1 ever saw
I'm vain 1 tried to forget it;
couldn't. Again and again my eyes
wandered UP to the mans face. l knew
that l was done for IL couldn't forget
that eye; but forget it I couldn't.
HE had learned how to make the
eye climb up upon end, but he hadn't
anything like the skill at it that /
have, and yet / felt that the jig was
up with me. That awful eye, with its
fierce stare, was more than / could en-
dure. He not only won the stake, but
in the last Zip smashed my own eye
1 was out just a hundred and five"
And that eye-what kind of an eye
was it?"
Hanged If know" replied Davis.
at was one of those which he stole
when he bought the one which match
ed the one left in his head. 1t was the
eye of a lion or some other wild ami
NAL. He put 1t into his head pur-
posely to make me nervous: and it
worked like charm. / saw II in my
dreams for a month afterward.