Show ill ft Story of tb Pay Day ill EWAS E WAS QUEER POKER LUCK The recent renewal of or the effort to rid the steamers of or the professional lonal short can i players reminds me mc of or a poker Incident that occurred on one of ot the big liners In the tall fall of or 92 92 said Mid a a. aNew aNew New Yorker who has done a 0 good deal of trans-Atlantic trans voyaging The passenger passenger pas pas- list owing to the lateness of or the season was not over f fell U. U and on the first da day out th there ro were wei-e only a few small games In the most of ot them apparently between men who knew each other quite well vell Things be began nn to liven up In the card card- room on the second cond day J out and the chaps who didn't appear to know anybody any army body got ot together In four our five Ove and six six- handed games gaines of ot poker One of ot the six-handed six games of or draw was the storm center of the Incident that I r started to t tell 11 a about bou tI t. t I r was one of or the placers In that game same I was as acquainted with two of ot the players but the other three were strangers to me One of or the men I knew was a well-known well New York politician pol pot and contractor and another was wasa wasn a n stock broker with whom hom Id I'd been acquainted acquainted ac ac- ac- ac for years One of the three strangers ers was a looking foreign chap a n. bronzed skin who spoke with a n slight French accent Another was a well weli I Englishman n lIshman who whose e manners were fine One and who Invariably spoke In a LL very low tone of or voice The third stranger WR wa was a young American who wore u a full fun beard and drank rather liberally of ot champagne during the 1111 play He occasionally let letaU hail fall the remark that he was a Californian Call Call- and It was of oC course up to the three of us who knew each other to take his word for It We Ye went vent at the game a bit before luncheon on the third day out and from tram the beginning of or the the three strangers annexed the bulk of ot the money None of ot them appeared to be particularly skillful In handling the cards The man who ho spoke with Ith a a. slight French accent seemed Indeed to be a a. good deal of a novice at the game The well bred Englishman was rather awkward awkward awkward awk awk- ward In his hit handling of or the pasteboards and made frequent misdeals besides constantly dropping bunches of ot cards on the deck deek while shuffling The bearded beard beard- ed young fellow who said he w was from California played Just about a fairish sort of oC a game of draw Nevertheless Nc the three of ot them got ot the mone money and they got ot It so 80 stead that It looked a bit odd orM to sa say the lea lea- Ever Every time one o of the three o of us who know each other got a LL good hand one of ot the three strangers would be dead certain to pick up or fill a better one and md this port sort of or thing went on so 50 un- un Intermittently during the entire days day's play that It surely tild td look queer I think the three of ot us who had previous acquaintance with each other became simultaneously h suspicious for along toward the close of or the sitting when the three of or us were all to the bad had and It seemed Impossible for Cor an any of us to outdraw any of or the three strangers ers we found ourselves exchanging ing glances I think too that the three of ot us noticed virtually at the same time that the tIme three strangers got lot the biggest est hands when one or the th other of them was doln doing the der ig S' S When hen shortly before midnight we quit play the three of ot us got together r rand r rand and did a 8 little tittle talking among ourselves our our- selves We e agreed that we wc had been up against a brace game ame and each of ot ofus ofus otus us declared the belief bellet that the three chaps chapM with whom we had played were professional chea cheats t We got sot Into the game again on the following forenoon and from rom the outset outset out out- set et the chaps whom we suspected got all of oC the mone money and the fact tact became moro more obvious lou than ever that they were doing the bulk of or their winning on their own deals I After Atter we hal had played for or a R. couple of hours hourN the well bred En Englishman lIshman having hayIng hay hay- In ing ing- the buck dealt a Jack I was sitting sitting sit sit- It- It ting on his left and passed out The stock tock broker who was next to me rae also threw up ur his hand I The New York politician and contractor contractor con con- tractor who was next opened It for tor forthe forthe I Ithe the limit and antl the chap with the l French rench FrenchI i accent and the bearded young fellow tellow who said he was waR a Californian CI stayed alon along The En Englishman raised 1 it t t the draw o and the other three stood the theTa I Ta raise I seMy se My Iy friend the New Ne' York politician drew to his nines and deuces and cau caught ht another nine Then the Frenchman Frenchman Frenchman French French- man and the Californian dropped out and It was WM between the Englishman and anI the politician They The raised It back and forth between between between be be- tween them until there was pretty nearly nearly near near- I ly 1000 In the middle of the table when hen the politician with a queer look hook In his eye called The Englishman showed up his ace full on queens arid and yanked down the pot The politician slowly rose from Cram the table Theres fun tun In being a good oo thing even n for the no eIt novelty of It It for a little while said he but Its It's expensive work at that There are two people In this game that I know and I know that they're playing for amu amusement ement I re regret regret re- re gret ret that I cant can't 81 say the same for tor the three In the game that I 1 dont don't know The well bred En Englishman lIshman looked at atthe atthe atthe the New York politician steu steadily ll The Theman Theman man with the French accent paled slightly and regarded the politician with an equally steady lead stare The rhe bearded young oung man from California was also a agape But he broke the spell by smiling sm and reaching Into his pocket for his card case He extracted a a. card and threw It on the table before the poli poll He was Charlie Fair who met methis methis his tra tragic lc death with his hit wife wire In the automobile accident In France recently The Englishman perceiving percel the humor humor humor hu hu- hu- hu mor of oC the situation produced his card too He was H. H Rider Ha Haggard the English novelist no who had not entered his name on the pas passenger enger list so as to avoid attracting attention The Frenchman smiled sardonically and tossed hl his card upon the table He was vas tho the Marquis de do Mores as game ame and a as a square a a. little titled gentleman as ever busted an American broncho or fought African savages The three gentlemen had simply been luck lucky that's all I will leave you to picture what asses we three thre who vho had suspected them felt But flut the they were all alt good fellows enough not to rub It In too hard on us Chicago us Chicago Inter an |