Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 904 — page 4: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

owner. | other p - op ' L . iy “ Ye Rew yoy a Tee sg ¥ * »* « = ' a 1 - * ' . *Ourse the luck!” the mine-owner had ~ Joudly exclaimed, bringing his fist down up- on the board withacrash. ‘‘Did any one ess see such an infernal run as Iam hav- ng?” ‘* What’s the matter, sir?” asked the Five- Spot Sport, ‘““Matter? Everything is the matter! I have not won a single draw to-night, with. half the afternoon added to it. If I stay in any longer this fellow will have my mine, and everything else I’ve got.” Bergman was one who had not left his seat, or rather who had resumed his seat, immediately after the excitement attending the arrival of the Five-Spot Sport had abated. ‘Your luck ought to turn, if you stick to one line of play,” averred the sport, as he stepped forward. “The trouble is, he has been jumping all around,” explained the dealer. pee every time he jumped he missed, en?” ** About the size of it.” “Don’t know but I'll try hand at this, myself, just for pastime,” observed the sport, and he sat down by the table. He brought some money to light and made a liberal purchase of chips, and the game be- = ral 2 rather continued, and at the first raw the stranger was a winner, Bergman lost again. “Tm going to follow you, sir,” he de- clared, savagely, ‘‘and see what luck it will bring me.” ‘‘ Just as you like about that,” was the suave answer. At the next draw both lost. And fso it continued to the next, and the next, and for several turns, ‘*See here, what is queried the sport. ‘‘Samuel Bergman,” was growled, .‘*Glad to know it; I was beginning to think it might be Jonah.” _. The mine-manager flushed furious and leaped to his feet, his eyes flashing with _ anger, ; «Bee here, George Clancy,” he cried, con- fronting fectly square game?” “As straigh as a string, Mr. Bergman, I _ agsure you,” responded the dealer, a good- _ looking young fellow of about twenty-four years of age. ‘You need have no doubt of that, sir,” as- _ gured the Five-Spot Sport. ‘‘ At any rate, he has done nothing crooked since I sat down ne emit or if he has, J have been unable to de- es Clancy cast a glance at the stranger. ‘‘T am glad you are able to judge, sir,” he said. ‘‘ lam not responsible for the run of luck Mr. Bergman has had.” _ “This is evidently not your night, sir,” _ remarked the sport, turning to the mine- v) ‘ your name, sir?” Tt seems not; but, by heavens, if I don’t play faro I can play poker, and as you have taken half my pile to-night, Clancy, I dare a thats me at poker from now till mid- 7 , * ; . you insist upon it, sir, and if the seraan: willing that I should close _ the bank,” | . . “That is hardly fair to me, as I have only just begun,” explained the sport. ‘* How- ever, I won’t kick if you will let me take a ahand with you atthe new game. Whatdo Ut OM Bay. Mpa ae percentile, assented Clancy. “And it ‘Yes, poker let it be, and I’li come. in, too,” urged the bank cashier, __ | o lay-out was quickly put out of . ’ 7 - Me Sil, yeh Hitt, “eee ass to say, this table was the center aterest from that moment, a some ” playing was looked for, and it was : the dealer, ‘‘are you dealing a per- | quired words, flinging ’s all the same to me,” coincided | fear’ ; | i hy | sight and. e layers took their seats for the >. e, £205 Se Vek, Re ht A soo player.” ba A ib op Deadwood Dick, Jr.’s, Trade-Mark. destined to become a good deal taller than any one anticipated. ‘That game has to do with our story. CHAPTER IY. “A NOVELTY IN POKER PLAY. Ir fell to the Five-Spot Sport to deal. The four had agreed that it should bea game without a limit, just to make it inter- esting. Five dollars was the ante, and this alone was enough to make it a game of considera- ble interest, to say nothing about the other feature, ‘The ante was put up all around, the cards were dealt out slowly, and each man of the four looked at his hand. Some called for two cards more, discarding, and others for only one, The betting was not heavy, and Bergman won the pile. Thus it went for a time, moderately, until finally, upon Terrell’s second deal, things began to liven up. Neither he nor Bergman took any other cards, and when the betting commenced these two dipped in heavily. The Five-Spot Sport and Clancy pulled out, leaving them in possession. “Vl lift that just five hundred dollars,” said Terrell. putting up the dust as he said so, ‘‘And I'll boost that up an even thou- sand,” cried Bergman, ‘*‘I think I have got you where I want you this time, my fine fellow. What do you say to that? oes it scare you?” ‘Not a bit, sir. Here is your thousand, and another on top of it.” ‘‘The deuce! But, I am in to stay, and I'll give you another lift. “I havea notion that you are bluffing.” ‘Don’t fool yourself about that, Mr. Bergman.” ‘*T'm bound that you sha’n’t fool me about it, anyhow. Here is your thousand, with another along with it.’ ‘‘ Ha! that is what 1 like to see, sir. Now it begins to get exciting. I will see that thousand, and put just five thousand dollars on top of that. Now, sir, raise it again if you dare.”’ “Thunder!” the mine-owner exclaimed, his face growing somewhat pale, ‘‘ That is bigger than my pile.” ‘* Your paper good, sir, in the presence of these witnesses.’ ‘‘ Well, curse it, you shall not scare me off,” jerking paper and pencil from his pockets, ‘‘I’ll give you my name for the five thousand, just for the satisfaction of seeing what you are betting on.”’ With trembling fingers he wrote the re- the paper down upon the center of the table when he had done. _ “There,” he cried, ‘‘show down your hand!” This the cashier did, promptly, disclosing three jacks and a small pair. . -“ Ourse the luck!” cried the mine-owner. ‘* Just big enough to beat me, and no more. Here I held three tens and a brace of aces!” With an immense expression of relief up- on his face, Terrell drew in his winnings, and the deal passed to Bergman, who took om cards with trembling hands, his face pale. — _ “* Ifa man can’t winsomething on his own deal,” he said, ‘‘ he had better drop cards for good and all.” — | | - “T hope you do not mean to insinuate that I did not deal fairly?” Terrell, queried, in an angry mood, at 5 ‘‘Not at all; I did not catch you doing | otherwise.” ay “ Let me know it when you do,” ** You'll never do it a second time, with “TL never be found guilty of doing it | the first time, Mr. Bergman. 1am a square : i The mine-owner dealt out he cards, slowly and carefully, and without the least showing of .any attempt at crooked work, and the players took up their hands and looked at them. ‘Tam well satisfied with what you have given me, sir,’’ announced Terrell. ‘‘The same bere,” chimed in Clancy. It was not so with the Five-Spot Sport. He threw down his cards and called for a new haud altogether. The play began, and when it came around to Terrell he coolly dropped a cold ten thou- sand dollars into the pot, looking at Berg- man as if to say—‘‘Come and see me if you dare!” “QOurse you, I know you are bluffing now,” cried the mine-owner, ‘‘ Pll take some of it out of you, by Jericho!” Bringing forth his paper and pencil again, he wrote his 1. O. U. for fifty thousand dol- lars! The Five-Spot Sport and Clancy dropped. their cards as if they were hot. “JT don’t want that,’ observed Deuce- oe rey. ‘‘ Nor I,” chimed in Clancy. “That is a good big slice of the Squint- eye Mine, I take it,” remarked Terrell. * It. will take about my whole pile to call you.” ‘Put up or shut up!” cried“Bergman, im-~ patiently. | ‘Oh, I mean to put up, don’t fear! Tk put it on paper, same as yours, and my name is good for about that amount.” This was done, and the mine-owner was. required to show his cards, e had made a clean bluff; he had only a small pair. . | eT Ee Terrell held four treys. | ‘‘Ha! ha! bal’ the cashier laughed. ‘* It did not work that time, Mr. Bergman. If you will be reckless you must not squea ‘enh The mine-owner's face was now like death, and the perspiration on his forehead showed the intensity of his excitement. ‘‘No man can say he ever heard Sam — Bergman squeal,” he declared, ‘‘ 1’ make — you squeal, though, before we are done witl» this thing. Deal up, Deuce-Trey, and we'll try it again.” | ‘*T guess you and I are not in this thing, Mr, Clancy,” the Five-Spot Sport made re~ mark, as he shuffled. | ae te “That .is the way it looks,” was the re~ The cards were dealt. | ont At first the betting was light, but it grew heavier, between Clancy and Terrell, and Bergman and the Five-Spot Sport dropped out, eae -“T seem to have got in it, at last,” remark~ ed Clancy to the sport. | He dropped twenty thousand dollars op. the board! | pet Quite needless to say that the interest of | the crowd was centered upon this table. Every man of them stood silently around, some on chairs and others on tables in ordes to see over the heads of those who stood om the chairs, and not a word was spoken save by the players. | Pie eo ‘And you will find that you have got into a bad place, my friend,” remarked Terrell, as he met the bet and ran it up a good deal — higher, ‘‘I£ you are bluffing you will flad — that you have run up against the wrong | man, and if not you have got to hold a stiff — hand to beat mine.” ; Clancy said nothing more, again. _ che 9 ON ieee Re This time he came down, so Leavy that i called for Terrell’s pile, and with face some- — what pale the bank cashier put itup, Clancy won, with four eight-spots against — three aces and a pair of kings. : 7 a] D4 ‘‘Curse my peat growled Terrell. ob guesslamoutofit,now.” “No, we'll give you a chance, I guess,” Clancy encouraged, _ i opal cobain | aaa b, Hg ath ogi ai . sie " ‘. io i a j prot but played — a - ' : . ’ 4 ~ <~ . ’ n° 2] ¢ : M a, Fi hy a | ¢ . ey 4 4 ° i” at Fay! da a’, : J - . 4 ‘ = | at ye, ’ To 4 se bare VR te ate: a +f Se > Fo Shy ne, JOCKS: com > hi a “WH NS a ey LS see MiG get, 2