The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-10-20
The airits nay Eaee Tuesaay morns ottober 20 1909

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and some time late in the seventies he
settled down in Cairo and opened q gam
! bling house of his own.
They weren't very strict about sucf
things in any Of the river towns in thoss
days, and / don't imagine he had any
serious difficulty with the local authori-
ties; but If he had any at all it was sat
lsIactorlly adjusted, and / never knew
Farrelis place to be molested
AS matter of course, he ran a faro
bank, for faro was the great game ont
side Of poker, but never saw any game
played in the place. excepting those two.
fnsTe was always enough doing there,
though, to satisfy the widest gambler.
Farrell had good roll. and Though
tue nominal limit at the bank was $500
! never heard CT his refusing bigger bets
If anybody wanted TO make them There
was considerable craze about that tine
for playing system, and the favorite sys-
TEN was progression so 1 fancy the only
reason he fixed and limit was to break
up the system players
Farrell never dealt faro himself. but
he had two dealers who were called two
Of the best in the west Don't ask me
If they dealt brace game. / don't know
II they did, they did it too cieverly
for me to detect them, and have watch
ed them carefully more than once. but a
crooked dealer always knows he is being
watched and il he can't fool a sharper
man than the average player. you cant
call him slick. All l know is that it was
a rare occurrence when the bank lost on
nights play.
But If there was a poker game going
on in the house, Farrell usually sat in if
the game was heavy enough 10 tempt
him. He had been called one of the best
on the river. and his reputation grew
after he located in ibis own house.
He had been there perhaps half a
dozen years. and 1 had come to know the
place very well, for always dropped in
when l was in Cairo. though 1 seldom
played more than five or ten dollars. But
you viii do most anything for amuse-
ment in Cairo, or at least / would in
those days.
'Well, as / said, he had been there five
or six years when l dropped in one night
and saw that something unusual was go
ing on. l looked on for a while, but all
that / could tell certainly wa sthat an
unusually large game of poker was in
progress.
FARRELL was playing, as l would have
expected him to be, aud | recognized enc
of the other players as a professional
from Chicago. named George Carter but
the other three were men when 1 had
never seen.
On the surface there was nothing to
excite special attention. but almost on
the moment | entered the place I was
aware of a sort of suppressed excitement
that l had never observed in the house
before. even when the play was excep-
tionally high. So l got near one of the
and asked him what was GO
ing.
He told me Carter had come 10 town
the day before with two trends to chal-
ense Farrell to game. He didn't know
who the two men were, but he had heard
them called Brown and Hunter. They
were not known as professionals and
Carter had declared that they were not.
BUT were high rollers who had come from
some distance simply 10 sit in a big game.
"Farrel, he said. had accepted the chal-
enge, but had proposed lawyer from
st Louis. named Wharton. for a fifth
player and the game had been made up.
They had been playing two or three hours
when I came in, and there had been some
Indications that trouble was. pending.
asked the fellow what the indiea-
ions We're. but he evidently thought he |
lad said too much, and he would not
ell me. AS the prospect of seeing a |
disturbance was attractive to me, how
,ver, outside Of the interest of watching |
ig poker. 1 Joined the small crowd of !
nen who were looking on.
There was very little pretense Of con- |
ealment in the nature of the house. En- !
O so in. and inside of the house it was |
10 breach of etiquette to watch any play l
hat was in progress.
They were playing no limit. as I pres |
ntly saw when Wharton went down in |
lis pocket to call a bet of a thousand 4
ollars. he having all his chips I'm the pot |
efore the bet. He won the money, too. |
II three kings and that gave me an idea
Il the size OF the game. for a thousand |
ollars seemed a lot 10 bet on aces up.
still it did not seem TO me that the |
mere size of the game would account for /
he excitement, and 1 waited for the row
hat / felt was coming. / hadn't long
o wait, for in a few moments more Car
er reached over suddenly and caught
'arrels wrist as the latter was about to
erve the draw, he being the dealer
AS he did so. Brown and Hunter each
rev n gun and leveled II at Farren's
cad. There could be no possibility OF
oubt that it was preconcerted action,
ny more than there could be any ques-
ion that they had the drop on Farrell
There was dozen men fin the room
-ho would have taken Farrell's side in
row. and who would have drawn quick
Y enough in his defense. but though
early all Of them put their hands 10
heir pistol pockets. not one pulled his
ur. They saw. as Farrell and every
ne e'se saw, that the slightest motion
I his defense would have meant his in
tsnt death.
yet Farrell did not even change color.
lie looked up at Carter as cody as IL he
al been betting a white chip. when the
alter exclaimed:
1 caught YOU that time. You slip
ed card or the TOP OF the deck when
on picked it up. I've had YOU spotted
,r a crooked dealer fer long tine, but
never could catch you before
- And now YOU have caught me. as you
". what are you going 10 Co about it,
aid Farrell. still cool as possible. 4
Impose that's what you brought your
ais along for.
Yes. just that said Carter, and they
ave the drop on you. Vow youll Just
an confession that III write. AMI
reckon that Well Re quits for that liz
e trick that you PLAYED on ne in 81.
.t,Fs