The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1918-04-25
The Man in the
White Cravat
By JAMES mad

inst after the war between the states,
and that region of country was still
very rough. The plains were divided
between Indians, buffalo hunters, card
sharps, desperadOes and a few good
people who were trying their luck in
q new country.
Fol the want of something to do
evenings | used to go into a certain
gambling den and watch the card
sharps. When there were no "scabs,"'
as they called those stupid enough to
be gulled by them, they would try
their card manipulatiOns upon M an
ether. The game was to cheat without
being detected. If a player dealt a
card from the bottom of the pack and
his opponent saw him do 1t the latter
had simply 70 say I'm onto that bot
tom DEAF and restitution would be
made at once. II was amusing to me
to see their feats of l~egerdemain and
to observe how their opponents caught
them in the act.
one evening after supper l went into
this den and was looking at the men
play. They were all sharps except n
man who was a greenhorn. | had seen
him there on many an evening and no
ticed that they were gradually taking
mis- money from him. Presently a
Young man wearing IA white cravat
came in and said:
Gents, there will be prayer meet
ing over the Alhambra saloon at nine
o'clock this evening. All those who de-
sire to switch off from the road to hell
and get aboard the express for heaven
are invited to attend"
He had scarcely finished this quaint
announcement when a little boy came
in and, going to the greenhorn, said
Papa. ma wants you to come home.
She says the baby is in commissions"
The dupe's face wore a look of an
guish. He wanted to go to his child,
but he had just lost a hundred dollars
and wanted to stay and win it back.
"Neighbor," said the man in the
white cravat, give me your seat. I'll
play for you till nine o'clock then,
since I'm conductor of the train for
heaven, III have to go. l think / can
play this game as well as you"
The greenhorn surrendered his seat
and the conductor of the heavenly
train took up the cards which had been
put BEFORE him to deal. 1t was evil
dent at once that he was not unfa-
miliar to them. He shuiiied them in
a way that would take any ordinary
man long practice to learn, If indeed
he could ever master it. Then he
dealt them, flinging them into the air
so that they came down like leaves In
"A November wind, and the betting be-
gan.
please give that card back to the
gentleman on your left-the knave of
clubs" he said to n of the players.
The mar addressed threw the. knave
of clubs on the table, the man on the
left took it up and the game proceed
ed without any further interruption.
Presently the parson, seeing a good
ly pile on the table. said "Supposing
we make this a Jackpot, gentsf" All
agreed and the parson, whose deal it
was, opened 1t. The betting ran high
and 1t was not long before there were
several hundred dollars on the table.
Then some one called"
Gents" said the parson, throwing
his cards on the table, face up, there
you see a royal flush, the ace, king,
queen, knave and ten of hearts. Since
there is no hand to beat q royal flush
I'll scoop the pile" And he proceeded
to rake the money off the table.
After that he held his own till an
other fat Pile was gathered on the ia
bic, when all dropped out except the
parson and one other. They raised
and raised each other till finally the
parson showed four aces. His oppo-
nent showed four kings. Again the
parson raked in a goodly sum.
At that moment the man whose
place he had taken came in.
"How's the babyY" asked the par
son.
"All right and asleep"
How much money have you lost
here?"
Twelve hundred dollars"
The parson counted out twelve hun
dred dollars, then turned 1t over to the
loser and pushed back what was left
to the sharps.
Gents" said the parson to the lat
ter, "a few years ago l was a worse
man than any of you. / fell In love
with a good girl and she made a diff
ferent man Of me. | embraced her re-
ligion and since then have become a
Methodist parson. My church thinks
l have a better field among such as l
was and they have sent me to work in
this GOd-forsaken vineyard" Then
rising he took each man by the hand
and pledged every one of them to at.
tend the meeting to be held above the
Alhambra hall.
The parsoTf then went to the home
Of the man whose money he had
saved TO him, and when the wife and
mother heard the story and saw the
money she threw her arms about the
parsons neck and kissed him.