Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1901-05-09

AotA III tHe summer OF 70, SAID an
official of the secret service who spends
a good deal of his time a-rail, II was
struck by the comfortable, groomed
and experienced traveller look of the
man whose chair was directly across
the aisle from mine. He was quietly
but perfectly dressed man of as or so,
with close-shaven, ruddy coun-
tenance of certain pleasing Milesian
Characteristics. shrewd. smiling gray
eyes and a Very contented, amiable ex-
preston. He had a great stack of pa
pers and magazines, many of them Eu-
ropean publications, around his chaiA
and he was skimming them in an idle
sort OF way, when a faultlessly dressed
young fellow of 30 or SO made his APP
pearance at the door leading into the
smoking compartment and surveyed
the faces of the men In the car, The
comfortable looking man across the
aisle from me raised his eyes and shot
a quick glance at the young fellow,
and t"en went on With the perusal OF
the magazine in his hand. Presently
the young fellow strolled down the
aisles stopped at my chair, and adj
eressed me pleasantly and courteously.
m trying TO get up bit of
time he said. Care to sit in? I've got
one player and need a couple more
Casino and old maid are my
games, said 1, employing my stock lie
for such occasions. Il don't know one
poker hand from another.
The young chap smiled pleasantly,
and remarked that he guessed l was
Just as well off that | didn't, and then
turned and addressed the man across
the aisle. The comfortable looking
man looked up at him and smiled and
said
Well, 1 don't mind However, I'm
interested in the outcome of a story
I'm reading just now. Start the game
going. and get the otner fellow you're
hunting for, and I'll join you present
ly.'
The comfortable looking man
stretched his arms and yawned after
while, and went into the smoking
compartment. So did 1, to smoke, and
to look on at the game.
The young fellow and an older man,
also faultlessly logged. We're already
playing, although they looked to be
somewhat bored. Their faces lighted
up, however, when the comfortable
looking man Joined them, and they pro-
duced new pack, made the limit S
cents dished out a dollars worth of
whites and blues all around, and start
ed in.
They played on for an hour or so.
Ml.no ,. incident The hands all around
were very bad. A game of scent limit,
even on train, where time hangs
heavy, Is pretty stupid.
Iusn: exclaimed the young man
VINO mad invited the comfortable-lo look
Ing man in, after they had been play
ing for quite a while, Let's chuck some
action into this. What's the matter
with dollar limit?'
NOW, had been waiting for the
young ma To mako Sovna such e,,~~.c
ton as that. 1t cost me whole lot of
money to learn to play poker fairly
we'll, and also to learn when not to
play at all, and / felt confident that the
young man was due to suggest the ex-
tending of the limit. The reason why
! felt confident of this was because i
had caught two or three lightning
glances between the young man and
the older r'an with whom he had start
ed to play. The comfortable-looking
man appeared not to have noticed these
things l didn't feel as &c 1t was my
business to put in my oar just then,
although nedtated doing something
amount.
Just what l was about to suggest
i myself replied the comfortable-Iook-
lng man. This is deadly dull and I
can barely keep awake. But why dol
!ar llmtty Lets make il five-dollar linn
~ una HllS-cent ante
We'll, little of that goes long
way; put guess | can stand it, re-
phed the young man, and the older
man said he was agreeable. And SO
they went ahead on that basis. j knew
ny that time that the two chaps were
sharpers who made a business OF
picking up good things on the trains
ana made mental determination to
ring IN at the proper moment.
,f<,,.% M.
Seemed to have all the luck under the
Elevated limit. | was sitting right be-
hind him. aad l saw all his hands
They We're always more than good
When the other two dealt, but never
particularly good when he himself
had the deal. He was perhaps $500 to
me good at the end of an hours play
with the five-dollar limit, and then
there was jackpot. Before picking up
his cards the second time round of the
Jackpot, the comfortable-lookin man
screwed around in his seat to call the
porter. AS he did so he gave the most
deyilish and meaningful wink.
breathed sigh of relief to see that he
was next There was something in
that wink that convinced me that the
notwithstanding man wasn't going
to get the worst of 1T.
Bring me that bag beside my chair
Will you? said the comfortable looking
man to the porter. L want to get some
cigars
The porter was back with the bag
I no time. My man grasped the bag
.uickly from the porters hands and
deposited 1t at his feet, so that but
not the two sharpers-could see it. 1T
was handsome but worn Gladstone
bag, and the labels of many European
hotels were pasted on it. In small let
tiers on one side of the bag caught the
name p. Sheedy.' Oh. no, didn't fear
for p. Sheedy, the comfortable looking
man. little bit then.
1.-The comfortable looking man opened
ne pot With his kings up, and both tl,e
others stayed. He discarded his pair Of
mines and the other card and drew
three cards. The three he drew were
unimportant. The comfortable looking
man closed his five cards UP like a fan,
and when he opened them up again
for the life of me couldn't see how 1t
was done-he had four kings and an
ace. che young chap had stood nat
The older man had drawn one. They
threw the IS limit back and forth ut
each other to beat the band, until there
wasn't much less than $500 represented
in the center of the bolzc Then the
comfortable looking man placed his five
cards face down on the table and re-
marked
~ - .iii, 10 SettiIlS excltlng,
and forgot about that smoke.
Well, 1t was pretty good to see the
countenances of those two swindlers
when my man put that bag of his on
the table SO that they both saw the p.
sheedy' in small letters. 1t was great.
They both went pale, and then they
flushed. Their features worked main
fully. They shot lightning glances at
each other. They We're really in a dis
tressing state.