The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1901-05-17
THAT GAME
OF EUCHRE.

| son, Bum and /, all of the same fra
ternity. All are gone but myself.
| Hughes died three years ago-he was
my especial partner and chum-while
| Mason and Bum died within a week
of each other, both Of typhoid fever.
/ dreamed last night that wandered
up into the chapter hall for some rea-
son or other and, having nothing else
to do, sat down at the little table in the
anteroom, shuffied the cards idly for
awhile and then commenced playing
solitaire. 1t was rather late at night
but the one Pickering gas jet l had
| lighted showed me the we'll known de-
tails of the old hall as distinctly as In
reality.
had become deeply absorbed in the
| game, as solitaire can absorb a rather
| solitary man, when all at once / seem.
| ed to be conscious of other presences
at the table besides myself. l glanced
up, and there opposite me, in the very
seat where he had played partners with
me a hundred times or more, sat
Hughes! was somewhat startled, but
not especially surprised, and it seemed
the most natural thing in the world, on
looking to my right and left, to behold
| Mason and Bum in their accustomed
| places. Their faces were calm and ex
pressionless, as they always were at
| the card tablespoonful players, both
of them, always so quiet and self con-
tanned that you could judge nothing
from their looks of how their luck was
pY1t
myself in temperament, smiled at me
| and said:
"Well, old fellow, what's the game"
"Euchre," 1 replied calmly, and, gath
ering up the cards, / shuffled and dealt
them, turning up hearts as trumps.
The others looked at their hands in
silence, but regarded mine with jubi-
liant satisfaction, for every card was a
heart, with the left bower and ace at
the top.
All passed.
"Give me your best, Tom, and I'll go
1t alone" exclaimed l in confident
tones, but Hughes face was anxious
as he slid a card across the board to
me, and he said in low tone:
"Be careful, VIII. You are playing
against deathY'
But when l looked at the card and
found 1t was the right bower my glee
quite overpowered the impression in
tended by his warning.
"Come on, then" l laughed. "Tll
show old skull and crossbones a good
game" But my grim antagonists said
never a word in reply. They sat there
silently, holding their cards in that
prim, methodical way remembered SO
well as characteristic of them
Mason lead with a club, Bum follow
ed suit, and smiled triumphantly as
trumped the trick.
"If that's the way his nibs of the
white horse puts up his game" l re-
marked sarcastically as l led with a
low trump, "Pll engage to give him
few lessons"
But my laughter soon changed as l
saw the slip had made, for Mason put
on the nine and Bum the queen of
hearts. Then l braced up, and when
Bum lead with a diamond l raked in
the trick with flourish. Still Hughes
was watchingNne anxiously from across
the small table.
"Now," thought l, 81 will draw that
joker, if either of those fellows have it,
after which the game is mine"
Accordingly, with well feigned diff
dence, l led with my left bower. But
my acting was changed to reality when
Bum dropped upon it the right bower.
My establishment knew no bounds, for
l could have sworn that Hughes had
given that very card to me. l was
about to appeal to him, but on looking
across the table | saw, to my surprise,
that his place was vacant.
Still, | thought, | have often made
mistakes in sizing up my cards. and as
the game is mine anyway I'll say moth
ing about it, but play it out pluckily.
Bum led with a spade-the ace-and
somehow, as my eyes fell upon that
omlnous sign, my heart came up into
my mouth. laid my ace of hearts up
on his card, but had played my own
heart it could not have been with more
fear and trembling. Then, breathless
and without raising my eyes from the
table, ] awaited Mason's last card.
Suddenly a shout of fiendish laugh
ter froze my blood, and the cold per-
spiration started from my every pore,
for as the card covered mine l saw it
was the joker-a grinDing deaths head!
l had lost. | started from my seat,
but my antagonists, changed in form
and feature to grinning skeletons, held
me back. l gasped and tried to Shrek
and then awoke!
l found myself sitting up in bed, wet
with sweat and my heart beating VIC
lently. 1t is trife affected anyway,
and don't care to have any more such
dreams. Well, it's all nonsense being
afraid of a dream, and if have
within may as well crafty it as fdget
around and not sleep any tonight. So
after supper I'll walk down to the hall
and smoke cigar there.
Extract From the W Courier.1
William Hooker died suddenly last
night of heart disease. He was found
sitting at card table and had evident
ly just finished a game of euchre.
Three other chairs were at the table,
bat as no one was known to have been
L