The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-05-30
HARD HANDED HOBO HAS
 KNOWLEDGE OF POKER

got stuck in my thumb durin my wild slide fer life, when l came ter city con sistin of a blacksmith shop and an empo- rum fer eggs groceries. patent medicine an blows. l wuz goin' past the village iron benders shop when a guy rushed out an grabbed me by the arm. I didn't play Put Me-to- Sleep on his vest buttons: first, because he didn't have vest, an second. because he wuz about seven foot tall an had face that looked like pictures you see of tke bottom of the ocean with the seaweed wavin.
 |" I want you,' he sez, pressen' me up close to his red an black flannel shirt an tieklin my face with his wind resisters
 '' I'm a respectable hatter,' I sez, tryin' to break away, fer I didn't like the smell of his leather spark shield.
 " Don't make no difference he persists, I need you,'
 '"rhen he tells me about it. It seems the Governor wuz drivin through the town when his nag lost a shoe. Bein' the only party with a full and complete as sortment of horses footwear in stock he gets the job. Course that's a great honor. but the horse chiropodist is in some fool bet not to drink, and the Gov. Il hatcher ly ask him to have one. He can't refuse him and he can't loose his bet; so I'm to be the main gink an get the drink an & besides.
 Gents, let them blessed words go all through me an I wus new man. wuz his to walk on, roll CT jump on after that. He gave me the deuce of dollars an I started in. My hand wuz so hard I didn't need the tongs to hold the red hot iron. an we got together fine, me holden an him bangin' with his 16 pound sledge. Every time he hit the piece wlIz holden the ground jumped up an down like the floor in the Hatters' Rest seems to on Q
 
 ''Then the Ship of State Steerer pops in the door. Have a drink7 Smithy,' he sez, an bring yer helper along, too.'
 q looked up an seen that sledge comin' down full force, an before knew it that darn bellers squeezer hit the hand I wuz holdin' on the anvil to steady myself with. He lets out a screetoh and does a back flip flop an lands right in the white light district of the Governors silk tie. Then the anvil falls apart, an honest gents, there wuz the shape of my hand in the steel as pretty as if it wuz carved. never waited to get no further returns, but grabbed the sledge and gave an ex- hibit of goin' that would make a bullet look like the dyin' crawl of a one-legged centipede.
 "Steelin' that hammer wuz the first dis honest thing I ever done, an I'm goin' back to square up. I'll call you, gents"
 l IOrBOt all aDOuI the DlaHleO poker game I looked aroun' an there wuz everybody sittin dumb, with all the mon ey in the center of the table.
 Pair of Peaches," I sez, kinda bracin' up
 -Four men," sez Pete, reachin' fer the money.
 "The same as Aces" chimes the tramp, an rakes in the pot.
 That took me all in a heap; but do you know I wasn't so darned sorry, cause the Boe wanted ter square up fer that ham mer. It kinda made me feel cheap fer tryin' ter film him.
 What did you do with the sledge?" asked Studs, anxious like, an we all wait ed breathless.
 The tramp pushed back his chair an got up. "Gents," he sez. "my hand spoiled the darned thing; 1t wuz so hattened out I sold it fer a spade"
 We all sat dazed for a few minutes, an didn't even say good bye when he went out. Then Spender sez, like he wuz just wakin' up:
 'Fellers, I had pair of aces goin' in" We come to with a rush and looked at the six aces. two that the tramp had slip ped in when we wuzn't lool1in', an swore