The sun., 1903-12-27
ILL LUCKAOF THE
! HALF MOON HOUSE.
A Tale Of Gambler Lock and
Rssousee Down in
Texaskana.

Remember Billy Welters? Used to be
one Of the biggest gamblers in the West.
A plunger he was"
Happy" Holmes, the gambler-showman,
evidently had story to tell.
"Billys lost his grip now, hear" he con-
tinued. "When a gambler loses his grip
he goes TO the dogs quick. Reckon that was
the way with Billy. Played little CON
game on me down at Te1arkana when we
had the Half Moon-which was gamblin'
house we started together-an' played
another little game on him. Haven't seen
him since the Halt Moon went to the wall.
Il run across him down in Texarkana
seven or eight years ago. That used to
be one OF the best gamblin towns In the
Southwest, outside OF New Orleans.
struck Billy In little eatin' house. We'd
been together before on several deals Of
different sorts, down in San Antoine and
Albuquerque, 80 We decided to pool what we
had and open up ganblin house.
.We had about four hundred dollars to
start with, an after buyin' roulette
wheel and dice tables we had just q bout
enough to make an easy 60 on the first
round. Things went pretty we'll with us
at first for we put up nothin' but the right
goods--no loaded dice nor marked cards,
nor anything Of the sort.
at must ha' been three weeks after we
opened that we put In faro, and counted
up about 1900 or 81 900. Then. somehow
or other. our luck didn't run right. Seemed
that Some nights we'd close a hundred
or 80 ahead, an then again we'd close. a
hundred or 20 behind the night before.
BILLY would always come down an open
shop in the mornin'. There want much
doin usually. but sometimes, even early
up few. l generally got down, about
dinner time, after loafn' around talkin' to
the boys all mornin'. I'd take charge Of
things then, and let Billy of for. the after
noon. We'd both be on duty again at night,
except for an hour or two for both OF us,
up to 10 o'clock Then, Billy'd go home
an an open up in tae mornin'. I'd close up
when business was done at night.
1T must a. been long. toward, the latter
! got down to the place one mornin' and
found Billy sittin up on dice table. q face
on him as long as my arm. None of the
house gamblers we'd hired ever got down
until night, 30 Billy was there all by him
self I saw somethin' was wrong 30
What's up, Billy? You look like a
sweet potato stuck on a mud fence
Aw. says he. I should say there is.
Dudish lookin' chap come in here, this
mornin' an come pretty near cleanin' us
out
a'what'd he get9' seysI.
Pretty near five hundred says Billy.
'Wel. sorter cheered him up. Told
him we'd get it back ont Of some other
guy, maybe the same one. But some
how the thing didn't smell like fresh butter
Is ly oSpif Cpl To n
that way. Usually he was as game as a
sTwo days later that same thing hap
pened. That dudish lookin' feler got in
before 10 o clock In the mornin' and pulled
out two hundred more: That was what
bank roll still about fifteen hundred.
The luck was with us that night and when
l counted up before closin' there was $1,000
and some odd change. Billy had gone
Sns hSms sh ss =" 19e mdPbsh@ bss left and od H h@ tine
I'd be down early in the mornin', 30 as TO
try and catch that dudish lookin' fellow
myself. He agreed to change watches.
That night I paid on all the house men
the hotel and went to sleep, leavin call
for 10 o'clock. After eating breakfast
went straight down to the place, piled all
the chairs up on the tables after bunchin
'em in the middle Of the floor. / got all
the money out Of the safe, went round to
the corner bank and got Il all in hundred.
dollar bills, nineteen OF EN-, and stuffed
'em down in my jeans.
Billy sauntared In little after H. He
didn't crack smile nor nothin' when he
saw everything packed up like it was ready
for furniture van.
What S upp he says, cool as you please.
Il was leanin' up against table with
a long face. long as could make it.
"'That same oonfounded chap. straw
hat, blue coat. duck pants and tan shoes
Chats what Billy said he looked like) come
in here this mornin' and cleaned the bank
out on hundred-dolar throws, I've got
Just enough down to the hotel to buy ticket
to Kansas City. F you want to stay here
vou can have all the fixtures I'm ieavin'
at o'clock on the north bound Cannon
Ball says I.
IAN right he says. never crackin a
smile,
Haven't seen Billy since then. added
the Snowman after pause. wonder what
he's doin' now?"