The Washington herald., 1922-08-08

NEW YORK, Aug. For twenty
years he has travelled the trans
Atlantic liners. a debonaife figure
IN the salons and on the promenade
decks. He has the air Of the sue.
cessful man of on a pleasure jaunt
and the passengers see in him a
seasoned voyager worth cultivatine.
HIS mustache Ms closely cropped
and his clothes show the finished
art of the expensive tailors. He is
the most successful of the Sea
Woives-those intrepid adventures
who skiifully Jockey passengers in
the card rooms into playing for
nigh stakes and winning their all.
he is usually accompanied by a
young and beautiful girl. listed as
his daughter" but who in reality
is his "moli" The ocean-shark:s
"molf is representative of the
highest type of feminine crook.
Sne must be accomplished and bear
all the marks Of refinement.
1t is the 'molrs" only duty to
take away by her. very presence
any stigma of .crookedness. She
never plays. neither does she en-
courage others to play. She Is a
settings prop. And she is de-
voted to her wonderful dad.
through friend the other day
talked to the celebrated Sea Wolf.
For six months he has been un-
able to get passports. Scotland
yard has marked him. He Is per-
soma non grata on almost every
vessel that floats the Atlantic He
recounted the most exciting mo-
ment in his hectic career. He fell
in with a group Of rich men who
were off for Monte Carlo. He per-
mitted them to win-as is the
sharks custom until the boat was
two days away from Southamp-
ton.
Then he planned the big stroke.
1t was poker game-table stakes
and more than $4,000 was In the
pot. He had stacked the cards and
all We're to get big hands for a high
play with his hand. of course. top
ping them. In the tense moment
he made a slip that gave the big
hand to man across the table.
He was the man who had cut the
cards and handed them to the dealer.
The Sea Wolf suddenly drew
back his chair. Gentlemen" he
said I'VE have a cheater at this
table. The cards were stacked
when they were handed to me. II
is an old game. You will find we
each have high ~ands but his is
the highest" There was a scene.
and the cards were turned face up.
The innocent man was found to
have a straight fush-the highest
hand. And before the liner docked
he was a suicide in his state room.
Up in Lincoln Square is a bird
hotel that is conducted by Miss
Virginia Pope. For twenty-five
years she has lived among birds and
she has accommodations for 500
She has boarded them. taught them
to sing in tune and mended their
broken legs and hearts. Her most
expensive bird Is a $1,000 Malacca
cockatoo, as vain as a motion pic
ture actor. Miss Pope says the
canary is the most affectionate of
all birds and the black crow is the
most obstinate
The head porter in the large New
York hotel receives perhaps the
highest pay of any employe. 1t
develops that in one hotel the head
porter has a larger income than
the Managing director. Their in
come Is derived mostly from gratui-
ties in making railroad and steam
ship reservations. One head porter
has a ten-year contract with the
hotel where he is stationed. He
does not receive any pay and yet
he owns town and country home
and spends two months abroad each
year. He came to America from
Ireland and learned to read and
write while he was a bell-hop.