The sun., 1910-01-09
THE REVENGE
i OF A GAMBLER


Miasisaip' what makes q man love the
river, an the life onto the river. so well
that he mighty seldom leaves IL a'ter he 9
got a reel taste OF It," said Caleb Mix.
the veteran bartender on the Mississippi
River packet City OF Natchez. 90 co'se
they Is them what'n travel the boats
spell an then leave f'r some other
business r some place else, not havin'
caught the likin' for It what takes such
hold onto a man, but flr's I've seen.
them Z stays long enough for to reely
know what livin' onto the river rs don {
never leave il.
AN it's s'prisin' when you come to
think ont how many on 'em just sinks
under the surface o. the water when the
end comes, an you don't never know
no mo- about EN-. Mebbe a manll come
in here an take drink same's he has
did f'r years, an you don't see nothin'
outen the way about him. He's Jest
the same what he al'ays has been.
Then he'll 60 outen the do an that's
the last Z anybody'n ever know bout
him. Mebbe body'll be found some'res
later ON, but tn amt no tellin' whether
it's him or 'taint. Pears like there was
some spell like the voodoo priests useter
n6NCs WDkbb DuS TINoF Cttoto O&hvO - AAAf<AA
so g 7 he don't never get shut OF 1t. hvin
or dead.
Beats all how them t travels the river
constant gets used to such things. A
man II be with you one minute an the next
minute he's gone. an you don't never
know where. on'y you reckon the river 9
got him. / seen somepin' like that my
self not such hellova while ago t 'peared
to be most p'tic'lar cruel. but I reckon
twas on'y because did see it what made
it seem so. 'Twa'n't RELY no wuss n
a hundred other things what / didn I
happen to see.
we was tied up to the 4evee in Arkan-
sas City at night an the rousters was
unloadin' some freight we'd brung
down the river. II was a monstrous
dark night too. an l was watchin' the
lights an the river an thinkin' what
pretty picture twas, when / seen one o.
tn rousters stumble on the gangplank
an fall plumb in the water. He was run
min like they all was. for the mate was
drivin' 'em the best he knowed, an he
fell so quick he was in the water fore
he had time to yell.
Likely 'twouldn't "a done him no
goOi IL he had yelled. fr he went down
like a stone. I was on the upper deck
an I want near enough to do nothin'
IL there could "a been anythin' did.
but two or three o. the rousters seen him
fall an they stopped an looked for him.
The mate seen em stop an he come
up cusein' to split. but they told him what
there was a man overheard an he stopped
an looked too fr a minute or so. Ais
he cd see was what We al seen. Just
nothin' but black water runnin' like a
millrace, bein' il was flood times.
THE Niger never showed on top a'ter
he struck an there want nothin' cd
be did, 30 in a couple o. minutes the mate
begin cursin' again an drove the other
rousters back to their work. That was
all there was to il.
There's cr,ieler things than that nap
pens on the boats now an again. but tn
amt so many nowadays as there was
years ago. when all the travel there was
up and down the river was onto the boats
Them times the quality travelled like
kings. an they had to have everything O.
the best whether thay was on the boats r
anywheres else. an consequent the boats
was run somepin splendid.
tn sloons them days was gay with
IuNlslC ll2utS at HABhNt 6h rOtHCSHtico
thered be dancin IL there was ladies'
abod. like there gin'ly was. but alter the
ladies' had went to their staterooms there
was most al'ays one or two games O. poker
started. an more n likely they'd play all
night.
Il amt sayin' that was the worst thing
on earth. Them rich planters d have
their fling no matter where they was. an
poker was as nat'ral to 'em as eatin' an
drinkin'. but the hell OF it was t the
pfessionals was lowed to travel an play
onto the boats.
"Mebbe they couldn't "a been stopped
I'm travelln' no more n they can now. but
il was long time afo' the cap'ns o. some
O. the best boats drawed the line on them
playin' cards in the s'loons. Nowadays
YOU don't see none on II. What poker g
played amt serious enough for to be no
object to a pfessional 'thouten he's a
crossroads tin horn, an that kind. couldn Z
"a did no harm to the spots what I'm
talkin' about
But the old time p'fessionals was dif'-
rent First of they was dandies an
know ed enough to pass f'r gentlemen
even among the quality. 1t was on'y
a'ter YOU come to know 'em an know
Wnat dogs Jney reeiy was you q Inlnk
anybody cd be as wick cd an cruel as they
was.
There's been a heap said about EN-
an a heap o. stories told o. what they
done. but IL takes a man what travelled
with 'em year in an year out to reely
know how onnery they was. l reck on
tn Almighty never made nothin' meaner
| n one o. them old time p'fessionals
| 'thouten twas a rattlesnake. an they do
say how a rattlesnake'n let you know
when he's maxim out to kill. but them
devils made IL a pint for to shoot first
an then do what talkin' had TO be did il
there was any. An no mans life nor no
woman's happiness counted for nOthin'
with them 1ongside O. winnin' a pot at
poker.
"A word was the same as blow them
days an blow was the same as a shot
so shootin' was liable for to be did case
Of any trouble. One thing about that
was Z It made everybody mighty careful
bout what he had to say, but the worst
OF IL was Z a man want helt in the wrong
f'r shootin' IL he cd show t he'd been
insulted.
"The quality useter settle such things
in reg'lar duels. but the p'fessionals
didn't never give nobody a show il they
cd helm IT, an thew didn't wait for to