Evening star., 1902-08-23
HE OWNED THE SHIP


about the detection of professional card
sharpers on the transatlantic steamers re-
minds me of an incident that I witnessed
on one of the big lake steamers couple of
summers ago." said a Washington man who
tries something new every year for his va
cation. II was making the voyage from
Buffalo to Duluth atty the time and the
steamer, one of the new lake type, built
after the pattern of ocean-going steam
ships, was pretty well crowded with excur-
sionists. The general class of the passen-
gers was high, and among the men i'll the
card room there appeared to be about as
much sporting blood as Is exhibited on one
of the ocean liners From the time that
the steamer left Buffalo men who knew
each other and men who had never seen
each other before got together in little
poker games, in which the ante and limit
were gradually raised, and all of the tables
were going full blast after supper On the
first night out.
'As mere looker-on I was particularly
interested in a four-handed poker game
that appeared to more quickly develop INTO
a high-stake affair than any of the others
/ had seen the beginning of the game.
Three of the players were friends who had
got aboard the steamer together 1hey
were all brisk-lookng business men just
vergng upon middle age, and they had that
indefinable something about them that pro-
claimed them New Workers. These three
had invited the fourth man into the game
l had seen them extend the invitation. he
was standing by the rail, outside the caro-
room, smoking cigar after supper, when
the three got the hunch simultaneously to
play poker. One of them expressed his dis
like of a three-handed game. and they had
picked out the man standing by the rail as
the most eligible looking individual to COM
plete a quartet He was a prematurely
gray man under forty, with rosy skin, very
black eyes and a highly groomed appear
ance He looked like man of affairs, ana,
although he was plainly of reticent habit.
he graciously sat into the game to make 1t
four handed when he was politely request
ed to do by one of the three. Cards
We're not exchanged between the new man
in the game and the other three. The
fourth man looked all right from every
point of view and the three friends &C
cepted him on his looks, without even the
slim credential supplied by a card.
They started in to play dollar limit, ana
for the first hour or so the luck seemed to
be about square up. Then one of the three
business men, a rather nervous and testy
player, lost out a considerable Jackpot
that he had opened himself and this in
spirel him to suggest that the limit be
raised to s.. The suggestion was agreeable
all around.
From the moment that they began to play
with the S. limit however, the fourth man
in the game began to win heavily. He was
a very quiet. cool player. with perfect con-
troll over himself and when the big hands
began to come his way with unfailing reg
ularity he exhibited his mastery Of the
game by the way he played them At the
end of an hour of the s. limit game he was
probably 5000 to the good, and still the luck
showed no indication of switching. The
nervous man of the trio with whom he was
playing was the biggest loser, and the way
he twitched and fidgeted around in his seat
when he lost on bluff or on a straight
call clearly showed that poker wasn't his
game.
LETS make 1t all jacks for SO, and
sweeten with 81 he suggested, when it APP
peared as If the quiet-mannered fourth man
in the party could not lose al the regular
game: and what's the matter with making
it $40 to break 1t or to stay along?'
The proposition didn't appear to stampede
any Of the others, and so they began to
play that kind of game. In this, too. the
stranger in the game seemed to have all of
the others tied in knot. His extraordl-
nary luck in getting openers and in improv
ing on them really seemed peculiar, and
after some time of this sort of play. when
he was opening and hauling down some
thing like four pots out Of five, the
other three particularly the nervous one,
began to look at him rather curiously, and
to exchange side glances with each other
while the stranger was engaged in coming
his hand
Finally, when the stranger was a good
deal more than $1,000 ahead Of the game,
he dealt himself a jack after 1t had gone
around the table about ten times that
caused the breakup. The nervous man
Caught a SOOQ pair OF openers, ana cracked
it, he being under the gun. The others
stayed along for the money they had in
the pot, but they fell out when the stranger
made 1t the limit to draw cards. The ner-
yous man was with him on his openers, of
course, and he drew to his hand, taking
three cards. He gnawed his mustache
nightly when he perceived that the
stranger was stand pat When the
one of his cards, and had to push back his
chair to stoop over and pick it up, vim
dictive expression crossed his countenance,
and he made number Of significant grim
aces to his two friends across the table.
Having caught his third opener, the ner-
vous man made it a white chip to feel the
stranger out. The latter came back with
the limit
~ call YOU said the nervous man, be
cause I'm convinced that you have me
beat. I don't mind adding that I've got
about enough. I'm not expert in filling my
hand from the floor aluding to the strang-
ers having had to stoop to pick up the
dropped card, and therefore L m outclassed
in playing with man that's good at that
kind of thing.
THE stranger looked calmly at the ner-
vous man for moment. and then he said
flushing:
You mean to insinuate, suppose, that
I've been cheating
"Well,' said the nervous man, in a sin
gularly meaningful. II not insulting tone
you've had about as much luck on your
own deals tonight as you'd care to have
THE stranger quietly riffled his FIVE cards
they made up pat nine full-without
making any attempt to take down the pot
He looked at the other two men in the
game. but they kept their eyes on the table
Their attitude was neutral one, although
it did appear to me that they might have
been thinking that their companion was
making assertions that, however true. it
would be hard for him to substantiate
THE stranger touched button under
the table, and an attendant, who looked
very obseauious when he saw who 1t was
that wanted him. entered the card room
Give my compliments to Capt Blank
he said. 'and request him to step here for
a moment
Z" His compliments to the captain seemed
SO queer phrase to the nervous man that
his jaw fell when he heard it. but he still
maintained his air of hostility during the
silence that ensued before the captain en-
tered the card room.
Captain, said the stranger, when the
bluff skipper came in this gentleman here
lndlcatlng the nervous man, appears to be
of the opinion that I am a card shark. and
that l have been cheating him. Perhaps
You may be able to reassure him upon that
point