The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1918-07-18


rolls his three dice and collects or pays
out as the case may be. If you play
the crown and one shows up on the
lice, you get even money. If two show
Up. you receive two to one. and If three,
.hree to one. If the crown does not up
Dear and you have bet on 1t, you lose,
Ind so on. The percentage for the
banker is large If every square is
played. but If the crowd is partial to,
say two squares, he has to trust to
uck. The banker generally wins.
The game of blouse" Is very popular
llso 1t takes two men to run 1t. This
game consists of numerous squares OF
cardboard containing three rows of
numbers, five numbers TO a row. The
numbers run from one to ninety. Each
,ard has different combination.
The French "estaminets" in the vii
ages are open from eleven in the morn
ng until one in the afternoon In ac-
,ordance with army orders.
After dinner the Tommies congre-
gate at these places to drink French
beer at penny a glass and play
House"
AS soon as the estaminet is suff1-
ciently crowded the proprietors of the
House" game get busy and, as they
term 1t, form school," This consists
of going around aud selling cards at
a franc each. If they have ten In the
school, the hackers of the game de-
duct two francs for their trouble and
the winner gets eight francs.
Then the game starts. Each buyer
places his card before him on the ia
BILE, first breaking up matches Into fif-
teen pieces.
One of the hackers of the game has
a small cloth bag in which are ninety
cardboard squares, each with num-
Der printed thereon. from one to nine
ty. He raps on the table and cries
out: Eyes down, my lucky lads"
All noise ceases and every one is at
tention.
The croupier places his hand in the
bag and draws forth a numbered
square and Immediately calls out the
number The man who owns the card
with that particular number on it,
covers the square with a match. The
one who covers the fifteen numbers on
his card first shouts House" The
other hacker Immediately comes over
to him and verifies the card by calling
out the numbers thereon to the man
with the bag. AS each number is
called he picks 1t out of the ones
picked from the bag and says, Right"
If the count is right he shouts, blouse
correct, pay the lucky gentleman, and
sell him card for the next school,"
The lucky gentleman" generally buys
his veins.
Then another collection Is made.
school formed, and they carry on with
the game.
The caller-out has many nicknames
for the numbers such as "Kelly's Eye"
for one, Legs Eleven" for eleven,
"Clickety-click' for sixty-six, or TOP
of the house" meaning ninety.
The game Is honest and quite en-
joyable. Sometimes you have fourteen
numbers on your card covered and
you are waiting for the fifteenth to be
called. In an imploring voice you call
out, Come on, Watkins, chum, I'm
sweating on 'Kelly's Eye"
Watkins generally replies, well,
keep out of a draft, you'll catch cold.'
Another game is "POntoon," played
with cards; ii is the same as our
"Black Jack" or "Twenty-one."
A card game called Drag" Is also
popular. Using IL casino deck, the
dealer deals each player three cards
1t is similar to our poker, except for
the fact that you only use three cards
and cannot draw. The deck Is never
shuffled until n man shows three of n
kind or "prle' as 1t is called. The
9alue of the hands are, high card, II
pair, a run, Il flush or three Of Il kind
or 'prile" The limit is generally n
The next in popularity is Il card
game called Nap" 1t is well named
Every time played 1t 1 went to sleep,
Whist and solo whist are played by
the highbrows of the company.
When the gamblers tire of all other
games they try Banker and Broker"
prayer, hoping That one of his strays
will get some poor unSuspecting Fritz
in the napper hundreds of yards be-
hind the lines. II generally does that's
the reason the BocheS hate the man
from Ern's isle.
The Saxons, though better than the
Prussians and Bavarians, have nasty
trait of treachery in their makeup.
At one point of the line where the
trenches '7ere very close, stake was
driven into the ground midway be-
tween the hostile lines. AT night when
1t was his turn, Tommy would crawl
to this stake and attach some London
papers to 1t, while at the foot he would
place tins of bully beef, fags, sweets,
and other deleacies that he had re-
ceived from Blighty In the ever looked
for parcel. Later on Fritz would come
out and get these luxuries.
The next night T@mmy would go out
to see what Fritz put into his stocking.
The donation generally consisted of
paper from Berlin, telling who was
winning the war some timed sausages,
cigars, and occasionally little beer,
but funny thing, Tommy never re-
turned with the beer unless 1t was iTr