| Show OWEN OWEr PEPPERS LITTLE GAME AT GREENVILLE Takes Take a go god id man sat said old oh ohman man Greenhut thoughtfully th for lor to know wrong with him hint The Tire good Lord done made most of us with a twist o 0 some sort in the machinery Its moren mor n likely like I to make us bet on a hand t aint shucks when it comes to a showdown er else to lay down lown when we hold the tha winnin cards Theres millions 0 o different hands t cn be dealt in draw poker but they the aint but four royal flushes in the deck an similar theres monstrous few hu Irn human human man critters t aint got some short comins com Ins into em an as I was sayin it takes a tor able good man mali to know just what the difficulty is with his own self Theres some t knows Now an again come a man t cn put his finger onto his own weak wea vea spot thou ten makin macin no mistake But its a hell capable man t 11 II go to t an straighten things out so sos s t he cn get the best of his own weakness Theres some t tries They see wrong with their hand an draw to it the best they knows but mostly I they dont fill nil When hen you OU find a man m n t cn fill his hand soon as he knows lackin youve o ve got a good poker player an when you find one t H l 1 fix up his own shortcomings so s 5 t he cn make right all aU the way through youve come onto a reel phe sure enough There was wha a man lived neighbor to tome tome tome me in Greenville t come nigh bein bela all right most any way you cd take him ony it alays like hed come just a leetie bit short o 0 bein bela right about any thin Feared to mean well an alays aras to set out to do 10 dothe the right thing but just as hed get to the time pint o 0 doin doln or other t d make you size him up as a superior sort o 0 citizen hed he d quit sudden like Uke the strain was provin altogether too much for him Dave Wimple his name was an he come o good stock so sos s t I there want no prejudice agin him into the Bein a well man an some of a good look looker er he was well liked but there pear to do him no gret good count of ot his habit o 0 four They was alays aras a card eard into his hand There was times when hed have a call for to preach seem see In that was a good business an not too An hed set about It all right on the chuch first like hed have haye to too 0 o course but he never got no further along n the bench Hed get there every night nights s a long s a re revival revival revival vival was on but somehow camp meet in d be over afore he was con convicted convicted convicted o 0 sin an took into the fold laId an anthen anthen anthen then it was all off a year Then he went alto to the liquor busi busl business ness an done well fr rr quite a aspell aspell aspell spell havin some money an a powerful I slew 0 o friends friend Started In all right too with a fair stock o 0 booze an the proper rules about cash but just about the time hed established an and and and d ought for to been makin money mone he got ot drinkin some heavy an took to givin credit Some later he took to in an an beta bein as he had good Judgment an everybody liked him like hed got on the right track Hed fetch in a horse maybe way off an fix m up fine so sos s t he to be all right an anh hed h d get a customer t was ready read to buy there want serous serous the matter with the critter an Dave Wimple d tell about him enthusiastic like hed have hae to bein a hess hoss trader an anthen anthen anthen then someway hed stumble like in hit his yarn yarn sos so st s t the other feller teller d shake his head an go way wa Pea red like he even lit consistent an it ruined that business for him himI I reason re son with him Dave Wimple I says ther d oughter be bemore bemore b more into the game fr rr a man like you nor you OU pear to rake down NaturI I 1 says done gave you ou a good start and good gooc looks a fair amount o 0 talent an more nor the average Instead o 0 which I says sas you go four every time Theres others said Joe Bassett gloomily an an ominous hush fell feU on the party so heavily It almost almo t seemed to thud Oh man Greenhut smoked a while In silence with a puzzled look as it doubtful of his own ears At length he said with suspicious mildness I cant call to mind as was holdin up Dave Wimple as th Ui thony ony four tour fim flusher her t ever eyer set in but that want ant just what you was at Joe when you ou fired so sud sudden sudden sudden den F you YOjI had else onto your mind you OU feel better f r rou you ou was to take another shot No said Bassett Basett Ba sett II aint sure as asI a aI asI I had an onto my mind at all I T Iwas Iwas was just ll o 0 four though theres some t starts In with a line o 0 moral maxims as sounds like they mean some pin an then goes off orr of toward Greenville thou ten any rea rca reason reason son an picks out a citizen o 0 that there town what never lid did to us I reckon under them circumstances life aint worth Not in Greenville taint Oh I dont know said Mr Ir Owen Pepper I seen a good game o 0 draw In Greenville Old man Greenhut started instantly toward the corner where he kept his hl hi bung starter and Joe Bassetts right hand moved toward his hip pocket but before either of them had taken de decisive decisive decisive action a Jake spoke Un UD There aint no sense in bein over overhasty overhasty hasty hast he said You uns cn kill him later f t youre that way wa but pears like Peppers pint Is well took Life sure is worth livin where theres a good game o poker to tobe tobe tobe be had I motion he tells us about it ItIn In n ater that I no interest In did to him The others recognized the soundness of o this reasoning and they ceased hos hostile hostile hostile tile demonstrations while Mr lIr Pepper himself seemed to realize that it was wasA 1 A up to him to make the effort of ot his life liCe I was the state he sake said when I 1 fell In with a couple o 0 tin tinhorns tinhorns tinhorns horns t was movin n Cm rm town to town ton an we put up to the Greenville tavern the same night I seen enough on em one or two other ther places to know knO they was t able slick but twant none o 0 omy omy my biness to butt in Great God interrupted Joe Bassett an alls I was interested in continued Mr Ir Pepper unmoved was keepin keep In the game while they the was Pea d like that was some easy They called Hank But Buttle ButtIe Buttie tIe tle and Jim Hockins Me Meb e them was their names We was in the bar room that night an Judge Olcott one o 0 the oldest citizens come in Inome some ome slewed Mewed an begin about an fr a game o 0 draw Buttle said hed play pla an a lit little little littie tle tie name o 0 Smith lowed hed set in f C there was a game so they begin b gln astin f anybody else d take a hand When hen they ast nat me I told em I play pia an I cd see s e they thought I was like most people does when you ou speak the truth but there was a store keeper Kleper name o 0 Graham said hed buy chips so they the had four but they had to coax Hockins afore hed make the fifth firth so I right away awa things d be some Well they the was fm the start First I seen was the old Judge a card up his sleeve an I says to my myself myself self sel be things some quick bein bela as he want none too skill ful UI an I 1 Hockins an Buttle want overloOk But they never sard a word ony I seen em ern look Jook at one another ah an a grin Next thing I noticed was Graham dealin often offen the bottom o 0 the deck an I them two crossroads cr sports seen it ft as plain as I did but they the set Iet like Uke two t brass dogs sayin an along Twant more n three or four deals ater that afore I 1 caught the the cards an in an doin doln of ot it more moren n considerable clumsy so there be beno no doubt but what Buttle an Hock Hoek ins seen it too Likely them Greenville yaps aps was so to pla ln together t they was makin lowa cs s frone fr one another or they want ant none on em wise to what th others was doin doln but how hoir ho they reckoned they was goin to fop anybody else was more n I cd see an twant clear to me why wh two tinhorns d set an lose money like them two was doin dOln a tt kick What hat made mad It more was t I Iwas Iwas Iwas was them th m just as careful as I Iwas Iwas Iwas was the others an I never neer seen crooked They was as as clocks chocks an not makin no breaks an they the was losin on the average like 2 or 3 a minute thou ten a sign of ot a kick Then just about the time I was lookin f fr Cr r the shoo tin to begin I seen seena a great white whit light sudden Th old judge had Just raked In a 32 pot with the help of ot a ace t hed been bivin up fr five or ten minutes an Hockins sort I 0 o stretched and he says sas This heres gettin Here Ive IYO sot fr a hour an chipped in moren 80 thou ten a o 0 winnin moren four pots an Ive been out helt every time I 1 had a hand I 1 dont sees I cn ever get even at this here 2 limit Lets make it i table stakes What do you say sy Well them natives had been up easy money mone till ti got grasp In like me an they seen a for more of It they all al agreed prompt an Buttle Buttie Butle growled a little an then said he reckoned hed lose as much one way waya as a he would so he no Then Hockins he lie says I reckon we as well wel have a fresh deck an while youre about It I landlord fetch f me another hundred in chips I 1 want to play with wih And Buttle says hell take a hundred too an n the natives they chuckled an said worry along with wih what they had f fr Cr r a aspell aspel aspell spell which they could do bein as they had moren two hundred velvet among em So there was over five hundred on the table when the fresh deck was opened Hockins ripped off the cover an I 1 seen t he had another deck o 0 th same color palmed In his left ler hand When Wen he h riffled rifled the cards though there want but one deck to b seen sen an when I 1 tumbled There want must doubt o 0 happen ater that an it happened Th old Judge kep aces an on rn Gra Graham Graham Graham ham kep on dealin offen often the bottom an kept the cards an Hockins an ani Buttle kep on straight poker any no notice notice tice Uce 0 o the tricks was bein did Only them two every ever card in the deck by b their backs aV aa ai alls they tey had to do was to lay hay down when they was beat an swat the natives when they got the Them clips begin way an inside o 0 twenty minutes them natives was again most as fast as they cd dig up p the money mone Then I just as Hockins had built up a stack 0 o like two thousand dollars that game busted up the funniest est I ever eve seen Mr Ir Pepper paused at this point and then ten chuckled softly and as he showed no sign of continuing his story stor old ol man Greenhut asked impatiently Well Yel how was that Mr Pepper looked puzzled I dont rightly know as I cn explain It I he lie said thou ten I show shoW you uns how It happened Buttle Butte looked looke up sudden an he says What was that noise outside The others says they dont hear an Buttle says There ts again agin an he starts to the door dor like this like he was goin oln to find out out And Mr Ir Pepper arose like one look looking lookIng ing lag for tor a noise and opened the door There he stood for a minute he hp continued lookin up and down this away aa And Mr Pepper looked up and down Then stid o sayin any thin he just jut shut the door dor him bein on the out iut outside ut side Mr Pepper closed the te door being himself on the outside After Ater waiting a few moments in some some surprise old man Greenhut and ant anthis his friends looked at one another as if I perplexed Then they went to the door and looked out but Mr Pepper was not there |
