The Washington times., 1904-11-20
Trap Was Set for Him,
But 1t Failed to
Work Right.
HE SHARED IN ONE BET
Holder of Four Aces Aston
iShed to Find That He
Still Had Them.
CCTHE strangest and most eHoit-


red one night during a trip we were
making 10 ST louis very shortly before
The brea king out of the war. He had
on board the usual crowd of planters,
merchants. gamblers and miscellaneous
travellers from the city, and every night
the social hall was pretty wen flied
with poker tables. / was chief clerk
of our boat az the time, and on the
evening / have In mind ] had taken a
seat near the Office to have a quiet
smoke when my attention was at
tracted by three men at an adjoining
table. Two OF them 1 knew very well.
They were professional gamblers, who
travelled regularly up and down the
river and had the reputation OF being
as smooth a pair Of pasteboard manip-
ulators as could be found in the busi-
ness. The third man was stranger TO
me. and 1 put him down mentally as
a dupe. / never saw him after that
night, but / remember him with perfect
distinctness. He was about six feet
high, slender, with very broad should
ers. and had a dark, lean, smooth
shaven face of rather attractive appear
ance- 1 was a little puzzled 20 size
him up. but finally concluded he was a
merchant from some small town in
the interior. From where / sat 1 could
easily overhear the conversation of The
group. and, knowing 1t was against our
policy 10 interfere. the gamblers paid
no attention 10 me.
He Begged to Be Excused.
After a little general talk they pro
posed a game OF poker. but the dark
man begged 10 be excused. He said he
very seldom played the game and did
not feel in the mood In spite OF all
their pressing, he politely but firmly
declined. Perhaps then. you wouldn't
mind looking on said one Of the gam
blers al last, while I entertain my
friend here for half an hour or 500?
1 would enjoy it, ne replied cOurte-
ously, and the two sharpers began TO
plot what would be known as a freeze
out. By that time my interest was
strongly excited, for 1 knew, OF course,
that some scheme was afoot 20 fleece
the stranger, and from prior experiences
! even had a general idea OF what was
coming
Both players bet heavily" continued
the captain. "and one OF them, who sat
directly in front of the dark man, was
presently more than $500 loser. A mo-
ment later two big hands were appa-
rently dealt. At any rate there was
swift interchange of betting and raising
before the draw that put perhaps $50
on the table when the sharper on the
opposite side hoisted the pot 500 more.
AT that his companion made the ges-
ture OF chagrin. I'd see your hundred
with pleasure, he said. I'm a tone of Bit
Ter annoyance. but / have less than so
IN my pocket. Holdr he added. as If
struck by an afterthought; perhaps
you viii allow me 10 show my hand
10 our friend. You may If you ike,
said the other, indineFently, and he pass
ed the cards 20 the stranger. who was
leaning forward. evidently deeply in
terested.
Hand Contained -Four Aces.
''The hand, as j could see, contained
four aces and "a six of clubs The dark
man passed them back without disar-
ranging them. and the gambler imme-
diately laid them face down on the ta-
BE. How would you like 20 back me
and 80 halves on thatT he asked. If
your friend Is willing said the stranger
deliberately, i have no objection said
the other man, and the stranger counted
out and handed over 500 In bills The
gambler 10 whom the loan was made
threw 500 in the pot. i see your bet
and raise you a hundred he said. Il
see H.. said the other. and now suppose
We stop this fOoling and draw cardsl
The big hand still lay face down on
the table. and. without looking al IL,
the gambler pushed aside thescard on
the extreme right. II was an old. cheaD
trick. and i knew perfectly well be was
eiscardtng one or his aces, so as 10
lose 10 his confederate, and would
claim later that he did It by accident.
Ills companion dealt him one card and
took one himself. NOW 1 raise YOU
$780, said the one who held the aces.
putting the rest OF the strangers money
IN the pot. 4 call you. replied the
other. counting out the cash. Then an
astonishing thing happened. i have
four aces. said the first gambler. and
began 10 turn over his cards one by one.
BY the eternal that was exactly what
ne had! He was confident. Of course.
that he had discarded one OF them, and
was all prepared 10 yell: 'Merciful
heavens j threw away one OF my aces
BY mistake But here were all four
staring him in Me face.
Fell Out Of His Chair.
The other blackleg. who had four
kings. fell out OF his chair, and before
they could recover from their amaze
ment the dark man was on his feet we
seem 10 have won. he said coolly 10 the
gambler he had staked: let as divided
the spoils' With that he counted over
the 1900. put IL in his pocket and split
the balance, making his share, as j re-
member g. about $3.50. The faces of the
two gamblers We're "a study. but there
was-s something so tndescribably meuac-
ing In the mans look. and they We're SO
clearly outwitted. that they offered no
objections. lie then bade them an IRON
ical goodnight and disappeared 10 his
cabin. lie got of before morning. al "a /
plantation landing. and j learned long /
afterward that he was "a noted pr0fes-
Elonal card sharp whose home was in |
Baltimore.
'How did he do the trick? Well. The
best i can give you IS my theory j be-
lieve he substituted an ace FOR the six |
spot when he examined his hand The !
gambler subsequently, discarded an ace
all right enough. but. unluciky for him. |
he sim had four left IL Is wasn't done |
that way. i give IL up"