The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1914-08-21
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
Jack of
Diamonds
At Times the Hand Is
Quicker Than the Eye
BY MARVIN DANA
Copyright by Frank A. Munsey c.

r Copyright by Frank A Munsey co. q
**%x&x44x4xx44x&4x4&&4Ax4x
1t happened more than a score Of
years ago. The golden spike had just
been driven at Portland, Ore.-that
last spike of the Northern Pacific rail-
road by which the continent was span
ned.
Helena, Mont, was In the heyday
Of lusty, unabashed, crude youth. The
released graders from the completed
railroad thickened the crowds in its
streets. All had money; all were afame
to spend it. The ugly main street was
two lines of saloons, dance halls, gam
bling bells, all open, all crowded from
dawn to dawn.
or the several busy ministers Of for
tune then and there present. Railroad
Jim was the busiest He ran a little
game Of three card monte in a back
room or the Montana Parlors, by which
name was glorified one of the smallest
and worst saloons in the town.
He was busy indeed, for custom was
brisk, and he had no assistant An
assistant, to have been anything but a
costly luxury, must have had fingers
as agile as Jim's own, In their peculiar
way. Such one was not to be had
very readily. The last had been shot
by an indignant victim. In Railroad
Jim's opinion, the man had deserved
his fate, for he had been culpably
careless, almost awkward, and had
thus invited his doom.
So now, perforce, Jim toiled inde-
fatigably. When he slept was a mys-
terry beyond any mans solving. His
meals were sandwiches, swallowed DUR
ing the progress of the game. His sole
drink was coffee.
OF course such labor deserved a re.
ward, and equally of course Railroad
Jim had it. A steady stream of men
slouched from the saloon into the back
room and anon slouched out again,
much poorer and not whit the wiser
for their experience.
But there were no complaints-except
against the goddess of fortune, who, in
truth, was most ungallantly and vigor-
ously cursed betimes. Yet, while the
losers reviled their own bad judgment
or i'll luck, they candidly admired, Jim
for the dexterity with which he be-
fooled them. For he won honestly
he ran square game" trusting to the
artfulness Of his ten fingers for his
modicum Of profit.
All who gambled there knew that
Jim was honest, because he held the
game down to a limit. Any one can
see that, had he cheated, the limit
would have been a palpable absurdity.
No man would refuse to take all he
could get on certainty.
But Jim, aware that sufficiently
acute observer might sometimes pick
the right card. refused to accept any
single bet of more than $500. To be
sure, no one had as yet offered to bet
SO large an amount on one throw of
the cards, but that fact had no influ-
ence on public opinion.
Jim was a large man. with a large
nose. large chin. a lofty bald skull
and bullying, CLASSY eyes. He was not
at all pretty, but very imposing. He
had big hands, too-hands that were
like brooding wings over the three
cards with which he toyed so con-
1t was really an edifying spectacle
to behold those hands as they manipu-
lated the three cards-the ten OF
spades. the ten Of clubs. the jack of
diamonds. The cards seemed never
quite to disappear from view. More
over, the movement was rather slow
than hurried.
The faces Of the cards were first ex. {.
hibited. two in the right hand, one in
the left. Then they were held backs
up and deposited softly. one by one.
On the table. All one need do was to
keep an eve persistently on the jack
Of diamonds-to watch it unwinkingly
ill it was at last put down. Then 1t
only. remained to place the bet and
finally to turn over the card selected.
Unfortunately for the crowd. this
ard was rarely the jack. The unhap-
Dy losers shook their heads and rue
July admitted that Railroad Jim was
a cussed slick un with tn paste
boards"
Among many others, Old Ike lost
BE had been in Helena just week.
Ind already he was q familiar figure
n the various resorts. He was a man
II about sixty. short, thin. clean shaw
n. bright eyed. taciturn.
He drank q moderate amount Of
whisky without going on the rampage,
Ind he gambled here and there, also
n moderation. Every night he drop
bed In at the Montana Parlors and
made two ffty-dollar bets
With Railroad Jim. In his fourteen
'fforts he had lost precisely 500.
However, he took his losses calmly
md remarked each night that he
guessed he could afford 1t. whereby all
lis hearers knew him to be a man of
wealth.
On the eighth night OF his stay in
Helena Old Ike got drunk. He visited
very bar In the place and drank at
ach with democratic impartiality.
mon he varied this pursuit by a mild
fort to beat faro game, in which he