Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 274

Flush Fred, the Mississippi Sport; Or, Tough Times in Tennessee by Edward Willett.

Fred Henning, a prosperous river gambler known as "Flush Fred" for his success at poker flushes and constant wealth, celebrates his twenty-sixth birthday at a saloon on the Cairo levee, treating patrons generously. When Arthur Helmsley, a young Southern planter, enters with a local acquaintance, Fred's demeanor shifts dramatically upon seeing John Mutford, a man he once swindled who has sworn revenge. Mutford draws a revolver to kill Henning, but Helmsley intervenes, disarming him. The narrative shifts to the steamboat Pacific traveling downriver, where professional and amateur gamblers compete. Flush Fred observes a poker game where Helmsley loses money to an amateur opponent. Fred joins, requesting unlimited stakes, and the game's fortune reverses dramatically, with Fred rapidly winning the amateur's money.