The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1910-09-14

the bottom OF the pack. who is afraid
to meet fortune eye to eye. Yoh agree
with me. subj"
"As a fellow patriot, yes-as sane
man, no." replied the other. the sal
tiric gleam again smoldering in the
dead Stag of his eyes. "Yoh have yet
to be picked by brace Of these river
vultures-they generally travel in pairs
but as man of the world, Of cO'Se,
yoh would instantly recognize them"
"Of co'se. suh," heartily agreed the
other. aside from all else. yoh pro-
fessiona gambler may be remarked
fob his lavish display of diamonds"
"iOh pardon, sub. but not always.
calculate that as man of the world
yoh have heard of Cameo Kirby"
smiled Moreau. again paying atten-
tion to his companions glass.
"Kirby? That's an old and honored
name in Plaquemine. suh." replied
Mr.. Randall, opening his coat and
tanning inflamed cheeks with his huge
slouch hat. Kirby was my neighbor,
sub, and l knew his folks we'll. | had
the honor to be Of some slight assist
ance when he went under during
the panic years. Crops failed, banks
went to smash, but yoh remember,
! reckon. Well. sub, Mr.. Kirby's
son, Eugene, came home from school
to find his poh father dead and
bankrupt - everything swept away.
That was hard homecoming, sub.
Very sad case. have often wondered
what became Of the boy, fob he had
all his fathers pride and refused to
let me exert my privilege Of an old
neighbor and friend. That was TWEEN
ty years ago. and since then I have
heard In a roundabout way that he
had become wild, drifted in with lad
companions and taken to the river for
livelihood. In fact, become a COM
mon gambler. But of co'se don't be-
lieve 1t. for no Kirby could ever do
that, suh-fall so low. Yet the name
Is uncommon. Have you ever met
this gentleman Of whom you spoke?"
Not socially. suh," replied the other
dryly. 81 calculate he is no relative
Of the folks you mentioned. fob his
reputation, sub, is the worst on the
river; known from New Orleans to st.
Louis and back again. He and his
side partner, suh-a dam carpetbag-
ging Yankee by the name of Bunce-
are the most reckless characters on
the river. 1t Is scum like them. sub,
70
lame. Yoh speak of no man dealing
on the bottom Of the pack. Why,
sub, | assure yoh on my honor they're
so crooked they have to sleep in a
roundhouse. | merely mentioned Kir-
by's name because Of the fact that,
man OF the world as you are, sub, you
would never pick him foh profession
al gambler. Never wore a diamond in
his life. The cameo Is his favorite
stone. foh they say it once saved his
worthless life. and from it he gets his
name, sub. But shall we continue the
game? / am still five hundred yoh
master, and we have fob hours to kill
befoh we make yOh landing"
Randall accepted the cards with un.
steady hands. 81 assure you. sub. yoh
are betting against foregone conclu,
sion.' he said, "fOh there is no stem.
ming the turn In the tide. I'll bet YOU
nve hundred On this showdown, and
then well pull stakes, sub. all square.
foh further play would be sheer rob
Dery. You can't beat the Randall luck
when once it has turned"
IL never believed in luck" replied
Moreau. 'foh life has demonstrated TO
me that there is no such abstract.
Fob instance, if coin falls head ten
times out of ten it is still an even bet
ION heads or tails on the next toss.
That Is the law, sub, and all the SUI
perstition in the world cannot revoke
or change it."
My dear suh," replied the planter,
waving an impatient hand, that is all
nonsense. for | hold that our entire
existence Is greatly controlled by luck
and not law. l believe in Supreme
Being. sub. and | attend church regu-
larly. but l do not believe, sub, that
our poh mundane affairs are regulat-
ed by celestial corporation, especial
ly such affairs as card games. Yoh
know yohself, colonel, that the best
playing In the world can't stand against
run Of blind luck, and as a man of
the world I've seen moh fortunes lost
on high hands-fOh barmaids topped
by fob kings every trip-just because
their holders hadn't sense enough to
realize that the tide had set in against
them. And l give yoh my word, suh,"
he finished, humping the table, "that
when | fill fob card inside straight
the Randall luck is sitting into the
game right with me. and yoh simply
can't win. Oh, yOh may get one or
two little pots. but yoh'll finish dead
broke. Call it what yoh like-luck or
the shutting Of the devil"