Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-02-17
who slid out Of the chair. vanbrugh

said, without trace or eXcltement, 10
Vanbrugh. the Mob Hill ground is
yours. If the ace wins. the Market
street block is mine. How about that?'
"Vanbrugh nodded. He shuff1ed the
cards, did the unusual courtesy In faro
bank of passing them over to Baldwin
to cut-Lucky could cut twenty-six
cards as well as any veteran faro bank
dealer-and slid the cards into the box.
"'With your permission, gentlemen,
said Vanbrugh to the other players
around the table whose play had been
interrupted. and they leaned back In
their chairs to watch the outcome.
Baldwin removed the round topped
parama from his head, and the cab
bage leaf which he always wore inside
\ of his hat in hot weather fell to the
floor Just as Vanbrugh started to slide
the cards out Of the box. Baldwin
| stopped to pick up the piece of cab
bage leaf and replace it in his hat.
Before he stood up erect again he was
| the owner of Vanbrugh's Market street
block. The ace had come out on the
right side for Baldwin while he was
still STOPPING over.
"'If your name isn't a fit, Lucky, III
be - was all that Vanbrugh said,
and on the following morning he trans
| ferred the Market street property to
Baldwin"
when the whimsical gambling was
going on out on the Pacific coast
| Lucky Baldwin was easily the most
| do FOL. Of oil no q
argonauts," said an old time Califor-
man. Zone night in the late fifties
| Lucky as he was even then called,
| walked into the famous old Alcatraz
club on Kearney street in San Fran
| cisco after having been religiously
| stunning his bed for about three days
and nights running. and in that shape
| Lucky was in those days ready for
| anything
| "a famous dealer in the AlcctraZ
club-the biggest gambling establish
| ment on the coast at the time-was
| Badly Monsoon, so called because his
| poll was bare OF hair as Il pat Of but
| ter. except for a tiny patch that re-
| NAMED right on the crown of his head
/
sistent stubbornness 1t had refused to
! go when the rest of Baldy's hair had
| departed. Baldwin strollcd over to
| where Badly MonsOn was acting rs
lookout for the faro game, preparatory
to taking hold of the box himself. and
| drawing Monson's head down, Lucky
| began to count the hairs that the deal
| Ny hoI LOFT ha fpT of
"'IIow many have you got left?
| Baldwin asked of Monson.
Eighteen of 'em an inch or more
long the last time they were counted,
soberly replied Badly. There may be
some trifiing short ones besides in the
tuft, but they don't figure
Eighteen, ehT said Lucky We'll
it's just foolishness to be packing
around only eighteen hairs. Turn me
the king, open, for $4,000, and if win
your eighteen hairs go with the pot
How's thatY
Badly glanced inquiringly at the
proprietor of the club. who was stand
ing by, and his employer gave him the
ned. Monson took the dealers chain
anu ueSdu tue ueai. 1 Ne king WOi
down near the middle Of the box, ant
the proprietor Of the club scrawled 6
check for $4,000 on the Bank of Cali
fornia and handed it oyer to Baldwin.
Lucky shipped the eighteen hair.
off of Badly Monson's head with tn,
razor edged blade of his pocketknife
had the housekeeper at his hotel ii,
them up in tiny pink ribbon, with /;
double bow to set them off, and ex
hibited the tuft in the window of tn,
Bella Union, labeled Badly Monsoni
Scalp"