Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-04-18
WON ON HIS NERVE

| 1.-THE most unusual hook-up to a finish
| that ever saw between a couple OF stub
| born poker players occurred on a man-o-
/ war which 1 served in the latter
eighties" said Navy Department clerk
| who put in several cruises in Uncle Sam 8
| sea service as yeoman. 1.-The game took
1 place toward the wind-up Of the ship 8
| cruise on the China station. a couple of
| months before she was due to return to
the Mare Island navy yard. where, after
| all hands had been paid off, she was booked
| to go out of commission.
1.-The two fellows who got the bit In their
teeth were black seaman named Perry
and a Chinese cook-the shippers cook
named Moy On. They were both scientific
poker players, who came pretty near d.
viding the ships money on pay days until
the members of the crew with gambling
prOclvi1tfeS learned not to play with them
and when the black man and the Chinaman
got together in a two-handed game the
fur flew around that TO isle in a mighty
astonishing way.
THE game that I'm talking about started
| on a payday night while the ship was ly-
ing in the harbor of Yokohama. 1t began
as fve-handed game. but the swiftness
of the pace set by Perry and Moy On drove
the other three out after an hours play,
and then the two top gamblers of the for
ward part of the ship had 1t all to them
selves They felt around Of each other
as the saying Is, for a while, the Chinaman
several times nailissg the black man on
bald bluffs. but vita the luck pretty even
until about an hour before the sounding
OF ptpe-dOwn was due. Then, all OF a
sudden. the Chink began to win. The cards
came his way in a cluster, and they came
the black 8 way. too, just good enough to
enable him to get beat on most of the
calls.
THE big hook-up happened just about
half an hour before pipe-down. 1t was
the Chtnaman's ante. and, of course. the
others deal. The Chinaman picked up his
five. peeked at them and rested the hand
In his lap Perry pushed his ante into the
center, and asked the Chinaman How
many?'
"Moy On guessed he'd play with the
cards he had. Perry looked at him. but
the Chinamans inscrutable. wooden ex-
preston didn't give him much information.
Perry dished himself one card. looked at
It with great care and intentness as If
hguring II his two pair were worth while.
Then he said to Moy On:
'Ah'L bet yo' fifty dolluhs. yo' yalluh
land fifty said Moy On. grinning good
naturedly.
AN uh hundud mo-. 70, slant-eyed
monk. yo'.'
land a bundled NOV On came right
back
Perry studied for long while, and then
he began to make calculations with his
fingers.
AL IldlU SOI uO money udn WIluI
All dun bet he said to Moy On. but All
shuah amt uh-goin tub lay down. Alive
got tub go see de pay yeoman.'
THE pay yeoman was the ships banker
he charged per cent a month for his
little loans to the safe members Of the
crew-and aft to the pay yeoman he went.
first leaving his hand turned face down.
ward on the deck and delegating one Of his
| mates to keep an eye on it. Moy On was
known to have any amount Of gold-ac-
cumulated winnings-always accessible, and
SO he didn't have to have any dealings
with the ships usurer. He sat with his
cards in his lap. waiting for the other
to return. Perry shortly returned from
his confab with the pay yeoman. carry
ing $500 borrowed gold, and about $16O of
his own money that he had on hand. He
didn't put any of it in the pot. Of course,
but he simply dangled the yellow money
before the eyes of the Chinaman, after
furtively looking about to see that no
officer was around. to show how strong he
was. Perry saw the Chinaman's raise Of
a hundred and went him a hundred bet
ter. Without the flicker of an eyelash,
Moy On saw the hundred and went the
black hundred better.
"'Ahm all in wifi whit Alive got on
hand yo' pie-faced rat-eatuh,' said Perry,
the black at this but All shuah nevuh
am uh-goin' tub lay down dis heah bunch
O. papuhs'
"cNo more money, no can win,' said
Moy On.
on de books was the blacks quick and
somewhat heated retort. An eff All had
de thousan' right now Aid go yo' all of 1t
on desc heah Dapuhs.'
"'You get pay off soon?' inquired Moy
On. amiably.
Tin less'n two months-w'en de OF
hookuh gifts back tub Mare Island said
Perry.
"'All light said Moy On. in business
like tone. You wait till you get pay off,
then bet your thousand, and I see you
and call. EN-?
"'Dats shuah uh-talkin'.' said the black.
eagerly. OATS whut Ahll do
"a large number of the blueiackets had
gathered round to watch the performance,
but the black and Chinaman had carefully
screened their respective hands from view.
When they reached the agreement to post
pone further betting on their hands until
the ship should reach Mare Island two
months later, they sent a man aft to the
pay office for a couple Of official envelopes.
They each stuffed their hands into their
envelopes, marked their names upon the
envelopes, the Chinaman with his HERO
glyph. and then deposited the envelopes in
the hands Of the pay yeoman.
From then on until the ship reached the
Mare Island yard the men all over the for
ward part of that ship were making side
bets with each other as to which Of the
two had the other beat-Perry or the
Chinaman. The general view favored Per-
ry-Moy On's bluffing propensities were
pretty well known over the ship-and the
side betterS who took PerryS end had to
give slight odds. There were plenty of
bets, too, that one the other of the men
would crawfish out Of stacking his whole
pay day for the cruise on his hand, and
the betting on this end of it favored the
Chinaman-Moy On had never been known
to cave no matter how precarious his
poker situation was. +,
Excitement was at white heat on the
day when Perry drew the $1,1S5 that he
had on the books from the paymaster, and
the men who had bets on the outcome
watched him carefully. Perry got his en-
velope containing his poker hand from the
pay yeoman, and so did Moy On. Then
they went forward together, all hands
grouping themselves in their neghborhood
to watch the outcome.
"'You bet me thousand? inquired Moy
On. before the envelopes had been opened.
emo. All guess yo all has got me beat
said Perry, with great elaboration, amid
the groans of the men who had bet that
Perry would stay with his proposition, and
the delighted bowls of those who had
wagered that he would crawl at the final
moment.
Perry paid over to Moy On the money
that he had coming to him on his lay
down. Then he tore open his envelope and
spread his hand out on the deck, saying:
Mine is TO Fights. What yo got, yal-
luh man?