The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-07-19
spelI I'm free to say I'd ha' throwed down

| IHoTe was OUIleIS JIlHJ ne DlHue tTAI WIS
Just ms good, an once seen him get away
with good blur his own self that fetched
him in over two hundred, so l was sayn'
| TO myself that he were n good deal better
] player n I'd ever thought, when he come
| to Eioksburg, when no was Roin' to get or,
but didn't.
"Just naturally, he want PAWN no atten-
| ton to who got on the boat there, nor no
where else " lille that game was goin' on: SO,
| when John Eallowell come into the saloon
| he din't even look up. John seen there was
! game on, an he come up behind ono o
| the other players an stood lookin' on for a
spell. o. course, he seen his brother wfs
| in the game, hut he din't saw nothin' to him
no more'n if he'd been stranger an
twas some time afoTe Ed looked up an
seen who was there Even then they didn't
speak, but they Just nodded at encl other,
like any man'd do to some Teller he just
knowed an didn't care nothin' about
well, John he stood there an looked on
for mebbe twenty minutes thout sayin'
nothin'', but the play got him excited They
was playin' fol'able big game by this
time, with the ante two dollars call five: an
jackpots, o. course. FIVE apiece. There
want no talk Of limit an the bets had
run up once or twice as high rs fiv" hundred
at a clip, though most o tho time twant
over fifty to onct.
Anyhow, Ed was a-koldin' his own, an
Hackett and Denton was quite some ahead.
The Northern men had played torabe
well, but reckon they was gettn' played
out, an twa'n't no great wonder, seem
how long they'd been ut IL.
But, az was sayin'. John he go; excited
lool,in' at the play an bein' out, like he
mostly al'ays Yves, lookin' for some way 70
blow his money he spoke up sudden u
you gentlemen don't object to maxim, th,s
game six handed he says, I wouldn't
mind takin' a hand
II reckon the two Northerners didn't
know him, faint likely, but Denton an,
played with him afore an havn' found HIM
easy ms general thing, though he had runs
o luck sometimes. 50 they spoke up Quick
an said thev'd he glad to have him play,
Then the No,therners said they hadn't no
objections. an Ed Halowell didn't say
nothin so John set in an bought chns
Well, from that time on, it didn't seem
like Ed FIallowell could do nothin' but lose
money, He played careful, too, an any
body TO watch the play would ha SAID
his game were heap more scientihc tnan
Johns, but the luck turned dead against
him. You've seen it happen that way IN
poker sometimes, when there's any kind
of a change made in the game. some
one mans luck will change an the whole
thing seems to get thrOwed out o gear.
at want that John got the money
Somehow it happened that they dldn
stack up against each other moren TWO or
three times for an hour, an when they dlu,
,twa'n't for no, great amount Bnt Ed
kept losin' to this one an that TIL he
dropped all he d made, an nigh thousand
more.
"'Peared like he'd get out-drawed every
time he come in on the strength OF tair
hand, an if he played four-hush he couidnt
fill it. 'Twa'n't that lie played worse
than he'd been playing, but the cards
wouldn't come to him.
AN it kept gettin worse instead %
changin' like it will sometimes, de had
three aces beaten twice, an then he caught
IL pat flush an Hackett mad full house
against him, pullin to two pair But me
hardest blow he got was havin' king full
beat, one o the Northerners gettln four
sevens cold against him.
HE didn't say much, beyond cussin
little to hisself three or four times, but
cd sect his jaw was gettin' sot, an ne
was lookin at his brother every little W hllr,
like he was sore at him. An it didn't help
TO make things pleasant when he seen that
John was winnin' considerable, thouSh
he hadn't won none to speak OF from Ed
FINALLY there came hand when every
body 'peared to get cards. an seen "a
Jaw git tightern ever an | reckoned he
were goin' to make a struggle. 1t were
Johns deal an jackpot, there PEN $50
in il, 'countin' one sweetenin an Denton
opened it for the size Of it under the guns.
"Hackett trailed an Ed Hallowell raised
if forty dollars. one o. the Northernels
dronned hut the other held good an
John Hallowell raised it forty more. Den
ton studied bit, an | kind o thought he
were goin' to raise again, but It We're
good place for him to wait no matter whht
he had, an he Just made good.
aThen Hackett he trailed again, an Ed
didn't say nothin', but he pushed hundred
an forty in the pot That were too strong
FOR tha other Northerner. an he dropped,
Int lain STAYED an so did Denton an
Hackett That made nigh n thousand dollars
in the not afore the draw. with a plumb
Thsra HADN'T been ANYTHING quite like
mat ,fnre though there'd been some
toi'ahIe stiff NAV n good MANY times
WAL whan Il come to The draw they all
utood nat excent John. an he took two
ca rJs p"ak;n' if clear' i h ID overplayed his
banJ cnnsidernhln three a. n kind not bein'
, wort" 90 much If most people's money.
aDenton threw In n white chip. Hackett
.uoi pei''om ma IA ,,Ianced nj Ills brother
S' rvu' q" Urn nut Won ont o. business
anvbow he saws. an he throwed $500 in pot
OVAL Jobn he looked at his cards very
-, al rH o u he saws, I don't know. Looks
70 no El,a IA cot a toI'able good show,
eye nv now wv ANYHOW. Tll 90 YOU thousand
,,,ora 'o and he mt nm the money
iho III ai,u ne PIE enton an HacLett study
,o r,a ,, may" hrt fnaIIv they both laid down
T = ,.n'laJ veil enough that John was
a;,hs. hi1f,ini ontrareois or he'd caught
Nv, fn,r,h an, If il vas n case a. bluff there
ms a"u,un ,s d how Ear them two hrotTers
m,i,,ht az Far they didn't look TO see Ed
~ i y Ikya ohowaS strength Inv his tive
S Ii,n,,rad az het an, he were mad enough
II, Iuh Luu 30 D oo honi, at him
ao y9Iin ~ r. "a II thnnnh There want
ma aarbt hot ha we're mad enough. hut he