The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1908-03-15

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with him, didn't get famous till later.
well, them four started in soon aitr
supper, an 'tWG'n't no greet while afore
they was bettln' we'll up into the hundreds,
o. course they played straight poker,
draw not beln' the game then. an there
want nc talk Of q limit.
sNone on 'em d "a" knoWed what that
meant Z anybody d spoke Of II. The on'y
rule then was I a man had a show for hls
pile 7 he was q mind TO call for Il. But
nobody d got nigh the end Of his wad yet,
nor they want liable to fr somo time
'thouten the play got desput.
"C'yards was marked as cGnnin' them
days as they snow an tws'nt long aiore
suspidoned as Diamond Pete knoTed
tol'able we'll what he was givin' out when
he dealt, but there was several reasons fr
me not Eayin' nothin'. First on, there
want no KILN made, .
sBeaton was dom we'll an Col. Carteret
holdin' his own, but the ColoneIs friend
Lee Davis, was iosin' some, an Diamond
Pete hadn't started In TO win. But nobody
hadn't hurt hlSself nc gre'L, an there
want no 'oasi6n TO speek.
@Next thing was, ] want plumb sure,
an the principal reason was I I'd a been
some likely 10 be killed II I'd spoke, bein'
a. I want In the game.
"Pretty soon there come q hand on Dia-
mond Pete's deal Z made EN- set up. Col.
Carteret put up a blind o five calls ten
an Beaton come In. ,
Pete made II ten more 10 play, The Colonel
he folded, an Beaton studied a bit, but
trailed. Then Lee Davis bet fifty more an
Diamond Pete p'tended for to study a
while.
sFnally he throwed in a hundred dollars
an Beaten dropped his hand. Then Lee
Davis raised IL Ave hundred and Diamond
Pete went back at him with a thousand.
sLee Davis didn't pear to be none scared,
but he Get thinkin' a long time, an then he
called, shown down q jack high flush,
but Diamond Pete laughs an says: That's
a tol'able good hand, but mines better
And he showed q king full an reached
for the pot. A.,
Just as he wa pullin' II in Of Colonel
Carteret sort O. stretched hisseh a bit an
says with a drawl: That there's mon
strous queer fr a fact, | cd "a sworn
l seen that king o hearts on the bottom
o. the deck while you was dealin'.' On'y
o. course he talked elegant language which
l don't. ,
snow the Colonel want no child, an
he knoWed what he was up against
Stretchin' hisseli he'd reached fr his gun
an had II atop O. the table afore he was
through taldn', but Lord bless you, Da-
mond Pete had him covered an was just
pullin' the trigger-at least | thought So
when Cap'n FOES reached him in one leap
firm the doorway an kicked his gun outen
S:That's when l frst seen how quick a
mar RELY could be. Quick as hewas, the
old man couldn't a reached with his hand'
but he got there with his foot, 'thouten
stoppin' 10 balance hisself, an that's all
I needed.
There was a few words, an then Cep'n
Foss marched Diamond Pete up. on deck
an hollered TO the pilot 70 head her In as
nigh shore as was safe fr the boat, an.
when we come up nigh an island we was
nassin he lust hove Diamond Pete over
hoard an watched him swim fr land.
We'll, | seen him do that thing three
times. The second man he throwed over
couldn't swim. an the Cap,n had a small
boat put out for him an take him ashore,
but he left him there just the same An,
the third time was the last trip he ever
made down the river. -,
There was a young Teller name o.
Hawkes. used TO travel the boats con-
sid'ble I everybody liked, bein' as he
was straight as a string an a good teller
He we're a cotton factor, an being junior
partner did the travellin' r. the frm. d,
aHe hadn't no reel bad habits, but like
most everybody he would play poker more'n
was good for him, an he didn't pear 10
have sense about who TO play WIN One
night he was playln' with a strange !
none on US knowed.
n hadn't been on the boat afore. They
played tol'able nigh all night an Hawkes.
was losin' considerable, but there hadn't
been nothin' said. Cap'n Foss came round
an looked on three or four times, but ne
didn't pear to see nothin' out o. the way
an didn't say nothin'. ,
sLonR toward mornin' he come In an
took another look fr a few minutes an
walked away again, but goin out o one
door he come in by another, 80 the
stranger wouldn't see him comm an step
min up behind him silent he looked again
for a few minutes. Then he says TO Hawkes.
very sudden.
How much you lostT
s1n' Hawkes., kind o. s'prised, says:
Must be nigh fifteen hundred. couldn't
say about the odd change
Swell says the old man, you a your
money back. This games crooked, an
I'll set this man ashore
sHe never drawed, but / cd see he was
ready fr a fight T. the stranger should
put one up, fr I'd been watchin' some time
myself, only 'twa'n't my place TO say
nothin'. But the stranger he looked up
with a queer kind Of a smile, an he says:
sI'ye herd o. that habit o yourn o.
Settin' men ashore when you don't IKE the
way they play, but, Aleck, you amt goin'
TO put your own brother ashore like that,
be your
a quick breath, an / seen him go kind'o'
gray round the corners OF his face. Then
he says under his breath, My God! an he
looks at the stranger fr a full minute afore
he speaks. Then he says:
ri had a brother nee, an hahn seen him
fr many a year. Mebbe you're the man.
But l hain't got no brother now. You're
goin' ashore all right.
AN he steered the boat up TO the bank
an throwed him over, on'y this time he
didn't wait 10 see II he cd swim or not, but
turned away an walked straight to his
room, Then, when the Belle o. tn Bayous
tied up he went ashore hisself al never
commanded no river boat again