The Whitefish pilot. [volume] (Whitefish, Mont.) 1904-current, 1910-08-11
river fob over fifty years, recognizdl
that yOh professional gamblers are an

river fob over fifty years, recognizd)
that yoh professional gamblers are an
institution; but. bless me. don't take
my sen Toms Wow CT them. They
gamble fob living. yes. but | believe
they do So honestly. as yol OK |. We
are gambling nation. sub. fob we
are young. red bluoded and prosper
Gus. but our country is incapable Of
giving birth to man who deals off
the bottom of the pack. who is afraid
to meet fortune eye to eye. Yoh agree
with me, subj"
'lAs fellow patriot. yes-as a sane
man. no." replied the other. the sa-
trio CLEAN again smoldering in the
dead Stag Of his eyes. "Yoh have vet
to be picked by Il brace Of these river
vultures-they generally travel In pairs
but as IL man Of the world. Of co'se.
yoh would Instantly recognize them"
''Of cO'se. sub" heartily agreed the
other. aside from all else. yoh pro-
fessionai gambler may be remarked
fob his lavish display of diamonds"
"Yoh pardon. sub. but not always.
calculate that as man of the world
yoh have heard Of Cameo Kirby?"
smiled Moreau. again paying atten-
ton to his companions glass.
"Kirby? That's an old and honored
name in Plaqueminc. sub" replied
Mr.. Randall. opening his coat and
tanning inhamed cheeks with his huge
SLOUGH hat. Kirby was my neighbor.
sub. and I knew his folks WELL | 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 Il hard homecoming, SUBJ
/! Very sad case. l 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
nefghbOr and friend That was TWEEN
ty years ago. and since then | have
heard in a roundabout way that he
had become wild. drifted in with bad
companions and taken to the river for
livelihood. In fact. become a COM
mon gambler. But of co'se don't be-
lieve it. 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. sub" replied the other
dryly. II calculate he is no relative
of the folks you mentioned, foh his
reputation, sub. is the worst OH 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
who give our fair Mississippi her evil
name. Yoh speak of no man dealing
off the bottom of the pack. Why.
sub. assure yoh OH my honor they're
SO crooked they. have to sleep in a
roundhouse. | merely mentioned Kir-
bys name because of the fact that.
man of the world as You are. sub. you
would never pick him fob II profession
al gambler. Never wore diamond in
his life. The cameo is his favorite
stone. fob they say it once saved his
worthless life. and from it he gets his
name. sub. But shall we continue the
game? l am still five hundred ych
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
five hundred on this showdown and
then We'll pull stakes. sub. all square.
fob further play would he sheer rob
berry. You can't beat the Randall luck
when once it has turned"
II 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
fob 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 a 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
~ such affairs as card games. Yot
know yohself. colonel. that the best
playing in the world can't stand against
run of blind luck. and as man OF
the word I've seen mob fortunes los,
on high handS-foh barmaids topped
by fob kings every trip-just because
their holders hadn't sense enough tc
realize that the tide had set in against
them. And l give yoh my word. sub,
he finished. humping the table "tha,