Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-02-14
BIG RUN OF LUCK

officer who Is getting on toward the retir-
ing age, 1.-THE ship pulled into the harbor
Of Nice, and all hands of the starboard
| watch were given shore liberty. The pay
master and I went ashore together.
Neither of US had ever visited Monte Carlo,
and we had long been promising ourselves
| a view OF the principality of Monaco and
| q bit of play at the tables, just for the ex-
/ perience Of the thing. and because in those
| days naval officer who hadn't at least
/ taken peek at the Monte Carlo game was
/ rather patronized by his messmates.
| I'VE arrived at Monte Carlo little after
/ the hour of noon. and, after strolling about
! the place, we started for the casino AS
we were entering we saw fireman from
4 our ship, an odd-looking red-headed
| Bowery boy named Tim Burke, trying to
| convince the pompous attendant at the
door that he was entitled to enter the ca
| sino in his bluejacket uniform.
''The attendant couldn't and wouldn't
see it. He couldn't speak English, but he
| shrugged his shoulders disdainfully as he
interposed his large frame between the
| fireman and the passageway into the ca
| sino Burke was addressing the attendant
persuslsivey In his tough New YORK dlalect,
| and gesticulating eloquently, but 1t was no
| use. The attendant wouldn't bulge from
| his position. Then Burke, grinning amiably
| all the time, began to cuss out the attend
ant He looked as If he was addressing
| compliments to the sumptuously-un
| ed attendant, but If the latter had had any
| idea of the horrible things the fireman was
| saying to him there'd probably nave oeen
| riot and an international incident TO 1oi-
| low. At this stage of it the paymaster and
| made our presence known to the fireman
| from our ship.
whats the trouble Burke?' 1 asked the
| red-haired fireman. who saluted in form
| and then looked sheepish.
"'Nothin', sir he replied. except that
this dago won't let me in me uniform and
%t,ie- flow,
"Well, that's their rule. Burke. l told
| him. But l tell you what you do, if you're
so anxious to get Inland as my suggestion
| isn't exactly regulations, you want to Keep
it to yourself when you get BACK TO the
| ship, do you mind? You run back to Nice.
| shed your bluejacket clothes for bit, and
| rent yourself suit of multi. Then come
| back and you'll be admitted all right
The odd-looking Burke looked grateful
| for the advice, saluted, wheeled about and
| was off at jog. The paymaster and 1
| entered the Casino and watched the play
for an hour or so, and then We began to
| venture few modest louis at one of the
| rouge-et-noir tables We were still I'M
| mersed in the game, and not much winner
or loser. when heard loud laugh over
at one of the roulette tables. and We looked
! UP to see what the fun was.
THE laugh was over our Fireman Burke,
| who had just entered the room and had
| begun play at the roulette table. He was
| a figure CT fun, if ever saw one. He had
rented evening suit that was about four
| sizes shy of being large enough for him.
| The excruciatingly tight trousers of the
| suit were a good nine inches too short and
| their shortness afforded fine view of
! Burkes government-straight brogans and
| white socks. His shirt was an elaborate
! pink-checked affair, and his necktie was a
| huge red bow-knot. The sleeves of his swal-
lcw-tail coat only reached down to point
a bit below his elbows, which accentuated
| the immensely of his huge, red. hamIike
| hands. His shock of fiery red hair stood
| ctr aifrhf on and nd no o.
| ing to the underlds Of his blue eyes made
| it appear if he had pencied them that
| way. Burke grinned from ear TO ear when
| he saw looking at him, but the laughter
| of the blase people surrounding the table
didn't bother him in the least. and he began
1 to scatter his louis around on the roulette
numbers
| HE was lucky from the start and in
| side of a quarter Of an hour he had fine
stack of gold heaped in front of him. His
extraordinary appearance attracted the at
| teItion of all of the players and strollers In
| the vast room, and the men and women
| playing at the table patroniZed by Burke
/ left off risking their gold for the fun OF
watching the queer moves of the funny
looking and unabashed Burke
| HE began to win SO steadily, however,
| that presently a MISUNDERSTANDING Rus
sian grand duke, who had been idly pushing
| little stacks of gold op the numbers, began
| to follow the ffremans play closely, risking,
| however. each turn of the marble ten
| times the amounts risked by the fireman.
| and finally putting down the limit every
time on the numbers selected by red
| haired bluejacket. The luck kept up and
| the Russian grand duke took down big
| sums. while Burke stuck to his fiye-lcuis
| plays and kept right On winning. Then
| dissipa ted-looking young EngliShman,
| wealthy nohleman who has since mended
| has ways and distinguished himself in Eng
| lish craftsmanship. took a hand. he, too,
following exactly the number plays made
! by the red-haired fireman, and, like the
| Russian, playing the limit every time.
| Right On top of this a Hungarian countess,
| noted at the time for her plunging pen
chant took up the fireman's system, or lack
| of system, and then there We're three utter
| ly reckless limit bettors-people who were
notorious Throughout Europe for their dar
| ing gambling-deliberately following the
| lead of United States man-o'-war fireman
| in bucking Monte Carlo roulette game.
| Burke steadfastly resisted the temptation
| to raise his bets, but continued right along
with his fve-louis plays on the numbers,
| the three plungers following him every
| play. Thus they stuck to it for hours,
| while scores of persons, many of them no.
| tables, stood curiously about the table and
| peered over each others shoulders to watch
| the game.
| LAT 5 o'clock in the afternoon, when
| Burke had no less than l2oo gold louis
| heaped up in front of him, and the others
| We're way ahead, one of the directors of
| the Casino approached the table-as it had
| been expected for some time that he would
| and announced to messieurs and mesdames
| that the game was temporarily suspended
| The bank had been temporarily broken.
| Burke was on board the flagship, clean
and sober as judge, when the paymaster
| and I returned to the ship that night, and
| on the following morning he deposited his
| 200 louis winning with the paymaster, to
be kept for him until the Wind-up of his
| enlistment. He only had twenty louis when
he began to play the wheel in the Casino. he
told us He had no idea of returning to the
| Monte Carlo tables remarking, as to that,
| I amt no hog.
| 1.-The paymaster and I met the young En-
! glishman who had profited so finely by fol-
! lowing the firemans play the next time
| visited Monte Carlo. He had just had
| vast losing and he somewhat ruefully asked
| us when that red-haired beggar of a man
| o'-war's man was coming to Monte Carlo
again.
| q One week in that lucky stoker's wake
! he declared, with a round oath, and I'd
| own the whole principality!