Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1904-07-02

II HAVE. HEARD OF THE GAME OF POKER. !"
aroused his respect, and he took off
his hat to me and extended his hand
and said:
pilgrim, I greet thee. Put it thar
Welcome to the town Of Big Hopes,
and whatever you desire you can
have"
I thanked him in fittin' language and
with proper fervor and incidentally
observed that the color Of hog did
not matter on a dark night. He re-
piled by incidentally observin' that
wherever two redheaded women was
gathered together human natur' was
made the better, and from that min
ute EDWARDS we seemed to be drawn
together.
At an early stage Of the game he in
vited me to join him in a convivial en-
terprise. I joined, and Of course Sc
lected natur's beverage. If the mayor
changed my glasses while I was not
lookin', and think by the taste he did,
/ was not in the least to blame. There
Is an old sayin' that he who finds fault
with his drink shall go thirsty.
When the night had fully come and
my supper was finished a brass band
surrounded my tent and played 1.-The
Last Rose Of Summer" in q way that
brought tears to my eyes. This was
followed by Maggie Murphy's Home"
and 1.-THE Girl Left Behind Me-" and
was feelin' jubilant on the one hand
and sorrerful on the other when the
mayor come to call on me and drive
away my sadness. For some time we
set and regarded each other In a tender
way and passed quotations, and then
he said:
Venerable pilgrim, perhaps in thy
travels through the woolly west thou
hast heard Of the game Of poker"
In dim, underlined way 1 answered
after due reflection.
1T may have happened" he went on,
that at some time-some rainy evenin'
or gloomy noonday-thou hast learned
the game and played it?'
II think have, but it was long, long
ago. / think played it for solace and
not for profit. Are there not such terms
in the game as ante 'one BETTER
flush and straight? If I am think
in Of football instead, beg to be ex-
cused."
''Thou art entirely correct, pilgrim,
and now, if thou wouldst do me ia
vor, let us have game 1t is long
since have put down an ante, and if
thou lowest me thou wilt seek to win
the twenty plunks in my vest pocket"
It was from a feelin' of duty that
l entered into the game, and duty was
uppermost in my mind as held four
ten spots and raised his bets until he
was a stone broke man. He was not
a victim Of envy or chagrin. On the
contrary, he clasped my hand and said
that we would stand in together, and
thereafter, for three days and nights,
we played partners, and the luck run
our way.
When from their ignorance Of the
game there was no longer any citizen
left to raise the ante on two pairs,
set up my stand on the public square
and disposed of my invigorator in lib
eral quantities. The people may not
have needed it at the time, but the
mayor assured them that it would come
in handy sooner or later, and they prof
tied by his advice.
1t was with cheerful feelin' that
saw the last Of my stock of $50 bottles
depart from me to enliven, invigorate
and make new man Of the buyer. 1t
may be stated here that the compound
was favored with sarsaparilla and that
sarsaparilla and benevolence allus go
hand in hand. Sometimes one gets
ahead Of t'other, but not for long.
When I had got through with the
sale of my invigorator, there did not
seem to be much currency left in the
town to do business on, and I was for
takin' my departure. The mayor, how
ever, assured me that the performance
was not yet half over, and he found
man with fightin' dog who was ready
to put up S25 on his canine.
am not one who delights in con-
fiicts and turmoils, but there are occa-
sions when ones natural feelin's must
be set aside. This was one of 'em.
could not disappoint the enthusiastic
people who had closed their public