The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-06-05
(New York Telegram)

The Major and 1Ir. Biinkoe We're dis
GUESSING the exposures ia Chicago OF
gambling devices.
'I was travelling from New York TO
London said the Major. 'It was
good many years ago and i'm those days
farLuIghts journey was nothing out
OF The way. a few of the first ships
the gTeyhOuuds. as JheE called them
would do 10 in ten. but fourteen or six
teen days was considered a very fair
N0EaEC ia the ordinary way I fancy
these fast journeys must have spoiled
the game somehoW-To time to get aC--
Quainted, ye kDow-but at that time
there were regular gangs of sbarpers
VINO practically lived ou the Atlantic
during the summer season. OF course
they got pretty we'll known TO the Of
rceT6- but as long as they paid their
fares and We're not caught cheating IL
was HObody's business 10 stop &c.
"l was in the habit of crossing every
few laonths and. having been had
once OF twice myself. had pretty good
knowledge OF the different gangs. ON
this particular voyage ! was placed
next to the first officer at dinner and
knWOing ne as a pretty regular tarv-
eler, he smiled when he saw me scru-
tmizing the rest of the saloon passen-
gers al table.
Miss anybody. Major he said
slyIy.
II fancy so.' / replied. Are they
keeping their cabins till they get their
sea legs one
The boys" have had marching or
deTs, he replied. We're a pretty clean
ship now, I believe
"In spite OF rather because of the alb
seuCe OF the professionals, we made up
two or three poker parties after we
had been out for a day or two. They
were tame games. however, at FIRST
with a smallish limit It was the Cen
eTai-We called him the General be-
cause he was AN Oldish man of mill
tary bearing who had lost his right
hano-Who FIRST proposed raising the
limit. He had been losing and, not lik-
ing 10 object under the circumstances.
we agreed To hJmOr him. The Cfener-
al'-his name was MCClosky, and he
was the most modest, gentIemanly man
had ever met, deprecated our giving
him the title. Gentlemen he would
say pointing with his left hand to The
black silk sling I'm which his MANNED
arm rested, "A seCesb bullet i'm nay fiTst
engagement robbed me OF "a commits
sion. Plain Mr. AICCleslIy. if YOU don't
mind. After that we only called him
the General behind his back. but we
thought none the worse OF him for his
want of a title.
"A biz awkward for i'm to '0ld the
cards with his left put in the Majors
listeners, let alone dealing and shuhl-
ing, wasn't itF
Tie got ON better than one would
think said the Major. OF course he
could neither shuttle nor deal, but he
had a way of making Il rest for his
card Ou the MANNED arm that served
pretty wei. He was @ good poker
player, too, loved the game-his one
vice he used to say-had won and lost
thousands aL IL. Lost more than I've
won, though. boys he would say with
4.L
times with those who were not above
taking advantage of a One-armed
player TIE tell you the truth his luck
was SO Internally Out the first week
or $50 that we began % fight shy Of him,
fearing that he would think we were
playing tricks. ] really got to dread
his. say, Major, I've been looking for
you this ha'af-hOur. Where's the rest
OF our party9
"Tt seemed. however, that need have
had mo- conjunction, for 7 discovered
from McclOskys confidential servant
respectable young fellow who was
half valet and half companion, sharing
the Generals stateroom In order TO
assist him I'm dressing that his mas
Ter WAS enormously wealthy. SO we
went ON playing day after day, raising
1le limit every time we SAT- down,
until after week of IT we found We
were gambling deucediy heavy. AfJef
L'I- tTt 49, a'a.'r NalE HEIha7 Naati- M
tI0sES5 NaF bltl ana ar the rate We
were playing now &C. didn't take him
long 90 get back all be lost, and bit
ia hand
Then he suggested easing off Bit
saying that he was satished-he didn't
went Go win out money and so on
Cf course We wouldn't hear ot that.
and we went on playing high and los
ing more and more until, on comparing
notes on the day before our arrival jn
Liverpool Wa found that the General
had won close ou 400 pounds. or the
others Z was the smallest loser. STILL
had dropped Hfty or sixty pounds
and we determined that we would start
playing Immediately after dinner ON
this last day SO that we might have a
chance 90 Tec0up ourselves.
"It was particularly dirty weather
that day. Without being really rough
there was q heavy sea ON, and our
boat rolled like the devil we had had
the Riddles 0u at dinner. and as &c
looked like being a bad nisht we ar
ranged go play in the smaller deck s1-
loon rather than go below. we were
pretty sure that We should have lat
no ourselves. and we didn't care 10 let
the other passengers know now high
7ye were playing so it would suit us
better thau playing in the larger sa-
loon. McClosky had left1 ls Immediate
is after dinner and as j went 10 nay
slateroom TO get my cigar case I
passed by his cabin. The rolling of the
vessel had ferked his door aJair. and
MS j passed by I glanced in. McClos-
lcy was holding on to his berth. while
his man must have been behind the
door. for just as I passed heard Bic
Closkv a8y. iu Unusually rough tones
for hiut. shut that door, you damned
foolr ] got my cigar case end went on
deck. putting the generals temper
down 70 the bad weather.
.a7,fere was something unusual about
his attitude. too that struck rae Vagiie-
IN at Che time but ] could not deter
mine what tt wac. and dismissed ll
from my mind. A few minutes after
wards he came into the saloon. having
been assisted by his servant
o you won't mind Jim standing by
me tonight. gentlemen he SAID; 4