Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-08-05
SHE GAMBLED WITH A MAGNET
How Sacramento Kate Turned $4,000
Trick in Baker City.

other day when read that dispatch
from Houston, Texas, about two fash
donAble young women tourists who had
tripped into Houston's toppiest gamb-
ling layout and spreHd-eagled the outfit
at every game from craps to wheel and
bank, and put the plant out of bust
ness to the tune of thousands after
few hours play" said an eX-gambler,
now settled In Washington, who in his
unregenerate days dealt faro in most
of the swift cities of the west.
st was in Baker City, Oregon, in
1887. I was dealing for Jeff Hopeweli,
who was then running the best bank
in. the town. One night was slip
ping them out for a lot Of cinchpeople,
breakfast-money grabbers-it was a
little early for sky players, who gener-
ally scrambled in about 10 or IL
oclock-when something pretty choice
swept into the room and filed it with
a fragrance that made fellow think
OF the days when he had the time and
the inclination to gather trailing arbu-
tus in the early spring. She was a
tall, black-haired, black-eyed, ivory
skinned queen in sweeping black lace
dress and plumed Gainsborough hat.
If Cleopatra were to get off an r street
car at the corner of Ninth at high noon,
she wouldn't get the bunch around
that corner more agape than this
swagger-lo looking woman got the men
who We're sitting around the faro room.
She stood in the doorway for a moment
with a smile on her face that showed
her dimpIes-I never saw such win
some dents on human map land ev-
cry one of us struggled to a standing
posture and stared at her.
Resume your seats. gentlemen
the apparition said, as we stood like
yaps gazing at her: and guess maybe
her voice didn't sound like those deep
croony strings on the hMrp. I am
sorry to interrupt ] am only here be-
tween trains. and should like to sit
in May +? ..
Might she? Perhaps all of US
out if they were on straight, when she
graciously accepted chair at one side
Of the table and pulled alongside the
game.
g What are the yellows?' she asked
me.
g Twenty-Five. madam said T.
g Stack, please said She placing
two handfuls Of double eagles on the
table. I passed twenty yellows over
to her. ffcked $500 into the drawer
out of the gold she had pushed over
my way, handed her back the 500 or
so change, and shufded the deck. Just
then a flock OF the big players, who
had heard down the street of what
was coming off, strolled in, and the
pilxers gave way TO them. We had a
rule out there that the chicken-feed
people had to make room for the cloud
riders when they came along, and q
mighty good rule it was, at that. The
new arrivals bought in. end they all
bought yellows. too. after observing
that the perfectly calm and collected
woman at the table had chosen chips
of that color.
1.-THE woman's manners were gra-
ciousness itself She wouldn't let the
men around the table put themselves
and before began to deal she pro-
duced a gold bound tab book of ceilu-
loid and a little gold mounted pencil
and thus Indicated that she was going
to keep her own cases on the game
which she did.
There were seven players seated
around the table and four or five MAX
ing bets from behind the chairs. Most
of them were fellows who had been
playing bank ever since they learned
how to whittle, and yet not a man OF
them observed what was coming OF
at the woman's end of the table any
more than I did myself. She played
until nearly o'clock in the morning,
and yet as ] say, nary a one OF us got
next to her. noticed that frequent
", when I had half slid the cards out
of the box when all was set, the wo-
man had a habit of reaching over the
table and sorting or fumbling the set
stacks on the various cards, but at
trfbuted this to wonnam's peculiarly
and said nothing about 1t. ] was deal
ing without lookout that might, the
lookout who served on my watch be-
ing sick.
1.-THE woman in the game played on,
as I say, for nearly three hours,
scarcely ever saying a. word, keeping
her own tab and winning constantly.
She played singles exclusively, copper
ing most of the time. When she
pushed her chair back she had my Ia
BILE trimmed to more than $4,000.
1.-THE Portland train is DUE, she
said, looking at her watch, and must
he leaving. I have been very lucky,
have not?'
Remarkably lucky, madam said
I, and I was wondering what JEFF
HopeweI, my employer would say.
he was out of town-when he got back
and found out that a woman IN a pic
ture hat had shredded his game for
that nifty bundle of money.
IT cashed her in, and. with gra-
cious smile all around. she gathered
up her lace train and made her royal
swish and frou-frou out of the room,
all of the boys gazing blankly after
her as if she had been from another
planet.
1.-TWO days later the conductor of the
Overland dropped in TO play few
turns before going out again.
Say he said to me before buying
chips, u dropped Mrs Kathryn Cum