Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1907-10-15
The Spoilers.
By REX E. BEACH.
copyrisht. 1905. by Beach.

more quickly tIan did Toby the signs
by which the Bronco Kid proposed to
signal what card he had struggled
from the box or held back.
In faro IL is customary for the case
keeper to sit ON the opposite side Of the
table from the dealer, with a device
before him resembling an abacus, OF
Chinese adding machine. When a card
Is removed from the faro box by the
dealer, the "henrse driver" moves a
button opposite n corresponding card
on his little machine, IN order that the
players at glance may tell what
spots have been played or are still in
the box. His duties, though simple,
are important. for should he make an
error and should the position of his
counters not tally with the cards in the
box on the "last turn" all bets on the
i table are declared void. When honest
ly dealt. faro IL the fairest of all
gambling games, but II Is intricate and
may hide much knavery. When the
game Is crooked 1t Is fatal. for out of
the ingenuity OF generations of card
sharks there have been evolved n multi
tude OF devices with which to fleece the
unsuspecting. These are go carefully
masked that none but the initiated may
know them, while the freemasOnry of
the craft is strong and discovery un.
usual.
Instead OF using a familiar arrange.
ment like the "needle.tell," wherein an
Invisible needle prlcks the dealers
thumb. thus signaling the presence Of
certain cards. the Bronco Kid had de.
termined to use the 'sand-tell" In
other words. he would employ
straight box" but n deck of cards,
certain ones of which had been rough.
ened or sandpapered slightly, so that,
| by pressing more heavily on the top
or exposed card. the one beneath would
stick to Its nelghbOr above and thus
enable him TO deal two with one mo-
| tlon II the occasion demanded This
roughness would likewise enable him
to detect the hidden presence of u
marked card by the falftest scratching
sound when he dealt. In this manlpu.
lation 1t would be necessary also to
|
boards a trlhe, 50 that when the deck
was forced firmly against one side Of the
box there would he exposed Il fraction
Of the small figure In the left hand
corner of the concealed cards. Long
practice In the art of jugglery lends
such proficiency as to battle discovery
and rob the game Of Its uncertainty as
surely AS the player IL robbed OF his
money. 1t Is. OF course, vital that the
confederate case. keeper be able TO In
terpret the dealers signs perfectly in
order to move the sliding ebony disks
to correspond, else trouble will accrue
Mt the completion of the hand when
the cases come out wrong.
Having completed his Instructions
the proprietor went forward. and Cher.
ry wormed her way toward the roulette
wheel. She wished to watch Glenister,
but could not get near him because Of
the crowd. The men would not make
room for her. Every eye was glued
upon the table rs though salvation
lurked In It's rows OF red ana black
! They were packed behind II until the
croupier had barely room 10 spin the
ball, and although lie forced them back.
they pressed forward again inch by
inch, drawn by the song OF the ivory.
drunk with its worship, maddencd by
the breath OF Chance.
Cherry gathered that Glenlster was
still winning, for u glimpse Of the
wheel rack between the shoulders of
those ahead showed that the checks
We're nearly out OF It,
Plainly II was but question of min.
utes. so she backed out aud took her
station beside the faro table where the
Bronco Kid was dealing. His face
wore Its colorless mask OF indifference:
| his long white hands moved slowly
with the certainty that betokened alb.
solute mastery of his art. He was
waiting. The ex-crap dealer was keep.
Ing cases.
The group left the roulette table In a
| few moments and surrounded her,
Glenlster among the others. He was
not the man she knew. In place OF
the dreary hopelessness with which he
had left her, his face was flushed and
reckless, his collar was open, showing
the base Of his great. corded neck,
while the lust OF the game had coars.
ened him till he was again the violent,
untamed, primitive man OF the frontier.
His selfstraint and dignity were gone.
| He had tried the new ways, and they
were not for him. He slipped back,
and the past swallowed him.
After leaving Cherry he had sought
some mental relief by Idly risking the
silver in his pocket He had let the
coins lie and double then double again
and again. He had been Indifferent
whether he won or lost so assumed n
reckless disregard for the laws OF prob
ability, thinking that he would shortly
lose the money he had won and then
go home. He did not want II. When
his luck remained the same, he raised
the stakes, but It did not change-he
could not lose. Before he realized II,
other men were betting with him. ami.
mated purely by greed and craze Of
the sport, First one, then another
| Joined till game after game was closed.
] A..