The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1904-09-04
hHATRIMONY AND
Nl @ DRAW POKER.
Old Man Grcenhut Correets the
Good Book, and Proves Justi-
fieation With Story.

SASeeASoA w NAS ~ ~'SNJ'
s'Tain't much use f'r man to give hi
attention to two things to onct, said oil
man Greenhut, as he bit Off the end Of {
fresh cigar, an more special faint good t,
give your mind to q thing when there
somep'n else has got to be did immediate.
There's one thing In the Good Bool
that pears to have bearin' on that ques
ton, an I'm free to say t reckon likely
I'd ha' wrote 1t a bit diffrlnt II I'd beer
the one to write it. The prophet sayt
''Taint no good for man to play lone
hand but there's different ways O lookin
ut that. Anyways, there's room for a
argument.
"Them gospel sharps that's alays tryin'
TO tell more meanin's nor they Is to a text,
p'tends TO say + the prophet means as it's
up to man to get married, an they argues
that playin' lone hand means bein a
bachelor. Stands to reason, O. course,
U that amt right. There want never
q man I'm Adams day to now but what
stepped into a mess O trouble when he got
married. Ocourse, they is things that
makes up for the trouble to some extent,
but they amt no disputin' the fact.
"O'course, the prophet was talkin'
o. draw poker when he used them words,
an I'd be the last one to say there want
some sense into EN-. A man t plays a
lone hand agin a well trained combina-
ton o poker players, even If there's ON
two In the combination, Is up against 1t,
an the prophet knowed it. II he'd ha
lived in Arkansas City fr few year an
saw the reputation O the town built up
by good honest hard work ag'in the pies
SIGNALS that has come here after our fioatin
capital he cd ha' spoke even more definite
about 1t. An the on'y way it's been did
is by holdin' the combination together.
"The trouble with Jim Bilwheel was t
he would p'sist in tryin' to take that air
chunk O. wisdom both ways Feared like
he want contented to look at it one way.
He played poker, O. course, bein' an Ar
kansas man. an he had sense enough to
stand in with his pals up to Little Rock,
but all Of a sudden he took it into his head
to get married, an then he come to me an
he sprung that gag o the prophets about
q lone hand, for to try to justify hisself
for his foolishness."
The old man paused, looked at his cigar
and, finding 1t had gone out, carefully re-
lighted 1t, and walked around to his iavorite
seat by the window.
Them days was younger n be now"
he said, after time, AN I kind O. felt it
was up to me to reason with Bilwheel.
Feared like I'd ought for to be able to show
him the error Of his ways. An says to
him. Jim, amt a sayin' nothin' ag'in
the lady says /, f'r there amt nothin' to
be said ag'in her She's all right. But
JIM says, I have herd say t she were
sort o. narrer like, as to the matter O
playin cards Hain't she never said nothin'
to ye regardin draw poker. now?'
well, Jim he grinned cheerful, an he
says, Said nothin2' Well, ! sh' reckon
.Ss had said things o %hS sn shS
an chewin' an cussin' an, playin cards.
THAT sort O. staggered me. an I says:
Does she make any objections to your
eain' ONCE IN a while, an breathin' out
says. as how she mought well cover
the hull ground to onct.
.Then Bilwheel he grinned again, an
he says, 4 reckon she hain't thought O.
, sssff, an I'll have to swear off on 'A'"'
But / says, how be you goin' to man
age it3 Pears to me like you was bitin
Oh a consid able chew. I'eays.
tor he. .saSs. when the lady is Mis- Bill
wbseE he says, 1T looks to me like she was
Aab@ to learn several things :,
teach people things: You know what the
school. but fools won't learn in no other
Pears like you might see a clear, white
light yourself / says, alter you've been
But seen twan't no Use to reason no
more. with a man't was takin' chances
like that, an / didn't say no more. But
whom Bilwheel came round two or three
o poker in George Fosdicks place, same
as he'd been dom afore. smolin' cigar
as brazen as a cotton boil, an taking
snifter O. red liquor afore settin' down,
ih says t. f;n him Are We besinnn' to learn
He laughed little, kind OF Uneasy
yet, but Mis- Bilwheel is So didn't say
'They played toll able interestin' game
that night. Pete Grosjean was into it,
an George Allen, an there was a couple O.
sucker lawyers I'm up the State that was
there lobbyin' an it did look like the Lord
Them lawyers was filled with fool conf
dence on good lookin' hands more'n once,
'thouten givin' the proper consideration
TO who dealt EN-, or maybe not knowing
SGrosjean's reppy .sat an an their must
when the game broke up, along towards
0 o'clock.
they was feelin' toll able good over it
not the lawyers, l don't mean-an' they
took a couple o drinks .afore startin' for
home. I was tendin bar f'r Fosdick. an
served EN-. An l noticed as how Bill
wheel peared little nervous like an not
In no hurry to start fr home. He stayed
fussin' with a cigar alter the others left
an then he called for another drink.
looked at him a spell, an says: Mrs.
Bilwheel know you're playin' to-night?
Yes he says, I told her afore come
'what'd she say2' saysI.
'Nothin', an that's what's got me |
guessin' he says with a sickly sort O. |
smile. And then he went out. /.
Il says to myself t he were tolable |
liable to make some discoveries afore sun !
UP, but there want nothin' f'r me to do, i
90 turned in, havin' a big room behind
the bar, where slep'
'Mebbe 1t mought ha' been a hour or
90 afore he come back an began knockin'
on the door kind O. soft like Feared like
he were afear'd o. walrin' somebody, but
don't reckon he would have, II I hadn't
been sort o lookin' out for him He come