The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-07-02

old Morton House. /
q doubt if there were any better
players in the country than the little
bunch that met there. night after
hight. Harry Hill was a man who
knew a good deal about all kinds or
sport and he testified in court once
that one of the party. d noted poll
tician in his day. was the best snort
card player that he ever knew.
They played a stiff game. too. for
money was plenty in the crowd, ana
there were not many outsiders who
cared to sit in. though the guard at
the door was not particularly strict,
and there would frequently be half a
dozen spectators of the game. 1t was
pretty we'll known where the mem
bers Of the party could be found at
night and men who wanted to see
them for one thing or another were
often admitted and sometimes stayed
TO look on.
"Wilder's reputation as q sport
was soon established and there was
nothing strange about the tact that
an opportunity was made for him TO
sit in at his particular game. Nor
did it seem strange afterWaru that ne
awaited himself of the opportunity.
/ not eagerly, mind you, but with the
! cool assurance of d man that was al
ways prepared to enter a contest OF
wits.
He was a good mixer. too. and as
the men who played were not spe-
ciallv fastidious about making ac-
uuaintances. he easily established
himself as a fit participant in the
game and played in it several times
before he pulled off the play that was
talked Of for a long time in poker
circles. He won and lost at success
siNe Sittings in a way that indicated
ability but nc great gifts on his part,
such as would enable him to do up
the crowd. Those who were watch
ing him were of the opinion hat the
combined talent in putting him out Of
the game. And there were not a few
who looked forward with satisfaction
TO his eventual discontinue
THE last night he played there
there were six in the game. One was
the politician l mentioned. Another
was Il theatrical himself a
politician OF note and a heavy plungeF
in various lind of speculation, in
Guiding poker. The others were well
known men about town whose per
SOnalitieS don't count in this story be-
yond the fact that each one OF them
was well qualified to detect anything
that looked out Of the way.
1T was real poker. such a. was i,
vogue at the time. Nothing was ever
said or thought about a limit unit
jill p:d9CI uCSAaA Gu AA4I1lSCi1 dli 1 IL
Then he had a show for what h
| had put up. but nobody asked or ex
pected credit. Naturally there Wer
large wads Of cash around the tab
: and apparently Wilder was as wei
fixed as the rest Of them.
1 During the early part OF the gam
: nobody had been badly hurt, though
{ some big bets had been won and lost
. but presently there came a hand O.
Ni1dar'C Aoo1 on which thAro vyo
|; considerable plunging before tn
draw. He had been closely watche
[ he dealt. OF course. but eve
[ afterward nobody could say he ha
n seen anything wrong.
n II assembled and riffled the dec
y in a casual manner apparently an
q offered it to the player on his RICH
It who gave it the regulation cut: an
IL the cut was reversed, as it prObab
was in picking the deck up. it W.
is don 20 dcftly that no one detecte
e it.
r But there must have been thre
II good hands out in addition to tn
e. cards Wilder himself held, for tt
l. theatrical managers ante was see
a by the next player and raised by tt
" politician. The next two men drol
r. ped. Wilder stayed and the rnanas'
o re-faiSed.
80 After that he and the politicia
seesaWed between them until at Ia
the politician declared himself all i
:; The econd player a seen sever
- raises. but after putting up near
$1,000 he had dropped. feeling that
"a pat flush was no hand for that co
test. He had il. for he showed
~ afterward.
wilder. However. had trail
along in silence. and after the Do
10 tician had called for the size OF /
az pile Wilder trailed again closing t
Nv pot. There was over $4,000 in I
~ pot. an nusual amount even for tn
game. and the two men oppose
him smiled confidently as they DO
~. 10 stood pat. eu Wilder showed no p
turoatlon as he laid his hand do
face and remarked that he vou
ne take three cards.
' The others stared in amazeme
'% when they saw that he onlY had
Claiyned: