The Columbus journal., 1907-06-12
\ ed BROKE
THE bAkk

4 86e inc IS1OtM W0V0 - o~SYo
v e the southwest. and It begins to
look like the only hank they will let
operate now Is the kind where Inc
cashier lays awake nights scheming
how to grab Oh more than the direc-
tors" grumbled Col. b.
Its different from the good OLD
days when the faro banks were rs
thick an flies around molasses. Guess
the country Ia prosperous. but monsg
don't seem to circulate - freely ~
when the Indians were paid .biAnnuAlIy
and the joints were running vide Open
Speaking Of gambling and banks.
reminds me of the time I'd Martin
broke 'Sheeny Joe At the Fort. where
they even stop the street ear on Sun
day now. 1t Wa the biggest game
ever pulled Oh there. and while 1t last
ed 1t made the stakes at Hot Springs
look like a four-card flush.
Ed was on the ground first. He had
three places which were adorned BY
green shades, and the table covers
were of the same color. Guess 1t vas
kid o. hOggish of him to want q mo-
nOpOly of all the COW punchers' dough.
but it's human nature to . trust
did you ever buck . bank game
with a foolish determinatf0a to break
it? No. well. guess you got money
then. That's what Ed did. and he got
away with 1t. He didn't invite Joe to
come into his parl0r to be bit; he went
to Joe's miniature Monte Carlo.
Joe was dealing the game when Ed
walked In. Ed sat down opposite him.
Words were superluous. They under
| stood each other just rs well rs II Ed
had said: Joe. this IL to be . finish.
| Either you or I must leave this burg.
| There amt room enough for both
The few pikers at the table side
| stepped when Ed carelessly took the
band on his bank ron and displayed
layers Of yellow backs to q dozen hum
| cry eyes. Joe looked kind O. nervous.
| but he shumed the cards with his &C.
| customed skill and slapped them IN
the little silver box. ready. for the new
deal.
That's the way IL began. 10 ended
| many hours later. but I'm going too
fast. 1t was a square game. The eyes
| Of the two rival gamblers met On the
0rst wager. Joe understood the fash
from Eds keen orbits. Deal EN- ON
the level or it's q pine box for you he
might have said, but It Wssn't neces
sary.
Joe won at first. then hi luck
changed. II see-sawed this way
throughout the afternoon, and far into
the night. when Ed began to stack up
blue chips in front Of him. Each was
worth $50. No two generals. trained
in strategy, ever figured closer than
did those two card sharks.
Greek met Greek but the Celtic
in Ed began to tell.e Joe vas breaking
under the strain. I'd saw II. pushed
his advantage and the stampede Doh
followed. With q recklessness born Of
desperation. Joe turned the cards
faster and faster. Little beads Of per-
spiration began to pop from his fore
head. As Joe's temperature jumped.
Eds coolness. his u~nrelenting play IL
most struck terror to your heart.
1T recalled tragedies. You inadver-
tently remembered the stag you had
driven to bay and had shot as It stood
glaring at you in all its majesty. The
tension couldn't last: It had to break
or l think We all would have died in
our tracks. The end was As unexpect-
ed al 1t was terrible.
LEGS face raj Of IN aahen hue.
lis eyes seemed as II they would
burst from their sockets. We gazed
It him, fascinated. thrilled, frightened.
Ed alone was self-possesse0 He was
a veritable demon in those last min
.utes. Faster and faster the play went,
"Joe's head struck the layout with .
crash. My God, I'm broke We heard
him say. He had died with the loss
Of his idol. Gold. Ed gazed at him.
orst in contempt, then In pity. He
buried him in. regal style and the
wreath he. placed on his grave bore
the epitaph. He VA no GUTTER
after the funeral Ed claimed J0e's
Joint and bank roll. None contested
his right. He's in New York now, and
guess he'll get . taste In Wall street
Of what he gave Joe. Those days have
passed in the southwest when men
viii sell their souls to break . faro
hank. I guess the modern kind IN the
best after ALL"