The Saint Paul globe., 1905-04-09
SOME POKER TALES
AND OTHER LIES

nc looh 10 the DoatS, so nobody gave him
no credit f'r being anything special. He
were slow. careful player, t you
wouldn't reckon knowed how to play
crooked, so he hadn't never got into any
rows An if he suspicioned anybody o.
foul play he hadn't never said nothin'. so
everything went on f'r a couple o. year
peaceable enough, s fur's he was con-
cerned.
Him an Atkins he'd met often enough
on the boats, an they knowed each 9TH
er f'r professionals, all right; but I reckon
they didn't like each other none too we'll
l never seed 'em taikin' and I'm sure
they never played together on the Creole
Belle till this time I'm tellin' of.
Feared like Atkins kind o. looked
down on Slocum some. him bein' a good
zeal OF dandy hisself, an Slocum bein'
more or less careless about his clo'es, not
but that he had good cio'es enough; but
they didn't pear to fit him right. an he
didn't change EN- every day. An then
Atkins was kind o. puffed up like, count
the reputation he had, an Slocum
dldnt pear to show no great sign O.
BEN overawed just cause Atkins was
fighter and he wants fur's We knowed.
"One day they come together. though.
Ihere was quiet lookin' chap had come
uown I'm Helena all alone as fur as Ar
Kansas City. His name was Judge Full
Ter, but we didn't know that till after, for
he didn't speak to no one till Sloc1,m got
aboard at Arkansas City.
Peared they knowed each other. am
while they was havin a drink Atkins
come off'n the train that had just arrove
from Little Rock, with two lawyers named
Haskins an Rogers, t he'd been playin'
cards with On the train.
Well. 1t didn't take long for to start
a game o poker. for the judge, he were
tired o. bein' alone, an the two lawyers
had just got interested o. course Slo-
cum want goin' to lose his man. an you
couldn't ha' drove Atkins away I'm his
two with cannons. so they was fair trap
ped into playin' ag'in each other
When l seen they was in the same
game l says to myself t moren likely
there'd be things did. 1 knowed they
want friendly, an had a notion t Slo-
cum want such a sleepy chap as he was
took to be. Somehow nobody but me
'peared to know nothin' about him catch
In that lady like he did. Anyway l had
a notion 1t might be worth while to kind
o hang round an see what might hap
pen.
The First Halliday
well. there didn't nothin happen for
the first halliday. They played a tola-
BILE stiff game. the ante bein' SIS and call
$40, an no limit bein' mentioned; but
everybody peared to have plenty O. mon
ey. an If anybody was losin' more'n was
natural in a game O. that sort, he didn't
make no kick about 1t.
Il cd see, though, fm what watchin'
1 did, t Atkins an Slocum was both do
in tol'able well. an 1 judged Atkins was
gettin' the big end of 1t.
Long about 2 o'clock in the mornin'
them five was the only passengers't hadn't
turned in, an 1 hadn't nothin to do but
sit by an look on, so I saw alrt happened
a'ter that. There come a pot on Haskins'
deal that nobody's go into. so they made
1t jack, an Rogers got the deck.
well, there was some big cards como
that deal. Atkins opened it under the guns
for $50, bein' the size O. the pot, an the
judge, he come in. That brought Ii to
Slocum, an he didn't say nothin'. but he
throwed a hundred dollar bill in the pot.
They was usin' chips but they had a lot
o money on the table, too, an hundred
dollars hadn't been no unusual bet all
night.
"Haskins looked at his cards a long time
an then he 'peared to count up the pot,
which 1t had two fifty in it, O. course, an
he sort o. sighed an folded his cards
reckon he had four flush an wouldn't
pay the price for a draw. Then Rogers
put up his hundred an Atkins raised it a
hundred.
Even at that, all four on 'em stayed.
maxim a pot of eight fifty before the
draw, which was tol'able big even for the
way they was playin'.
"On the draw Atkins took two cards, the
judge one, Slocum two. an the dealer
two. Atkins bet a hundred afore lookin'
at his cards; the judge looked, and raised
1t hundred. Sloeum looked an raised it
two hundred, an Rogers looked an
throwed his hand away
Not an Extravasant Bet
Then Atkins picked up his draw an
after glancin' at it. made it five hundred
more That want no extravaeant bet
considerin' the size O. the pot, but it
Were more money'n I'd saw in a single
bet while they'd been playin'.
Anyway. it were enough to scare the
Judge out He studied his hand again.
mighty doubtful like. but finally he said:
Mines too small. 1 DROP
THAT brought it back to Slocum, an he
says, very cool, I call you,' throwed in
his five hundred
ha' hurt lot, for his big bet were a bluff.
ne mad three kings all right, but his draw
hadn't helped him, an Slocum had a five
1ull; He'd pulled pair O. jacks
he were too good a gambler to put up
KICK but 1 reckon it must ha' ratified
him to have his bluff called, FIR / cd see
Els Idnd snake Just the leaSteSt mite when
ne TOOK the deck for the next deal
III l seen 1t 1t stands to reason Slocum
must ha saw 1t too. more special as he
seen somepin minute later I didn't
see, an l was watchin for it. too f'r
always mistrusted Atkins. Leastways he
said he seen 1t. an II was his sayin' it
brought the hull thing about
Atkins dealt the hand all right. 1t was
the judges ante, an Slocum come in
Haskins dropped, but Rogers come in, an
Atkins raised 1t ten
They all come in an he picked up the
cards to serve for the draw. The Judge
called for three an got 'em.
Then Slocum called for one an At
kins give him one, but on the instant that
long right arm of Slocum's shot out as
the deck away FIN Atkins
Il kind o reckoned you'd got them
cards marked. I'm the way you was look
In at en- he said, as cool as if he was
callin for a drink. But that amt no
reason f'r you to deal seconds to me when
you see my cards an ace. An he turned
over the top card.
Sure enough it were an ace.
We'll, l was tellin' you nobody had
ever got the drop on Atkins, IS furs we'd
ever heer'd, an / was thinkin that Slo-
cum must be plumb crazy, f'r he hadn't
made no motions to draw while he was
talkin.' an more'n that. his right hand
was out on the table busy with the cards.
20 course Ii were on'y minute or a
good deal leSsn a minute, but it were
time enough FIR Atkins to pull his gun
an fire straight into Slocum's face. An
right there was when Slocum showed he
was quicker even nor / knewed he was.
Feared like he didn't move till