Show wily AN INDIANA MAN QUIT POKER I There were five of them They wore scaled la limo office of a secondrate downState down-State hotel silently contemplating a soft coal fire burning in one corner of tho room and drawing lazily at the ends oC the best celt cigars nn accommodating limlloitl kept under lock mid key In a dinkey little case perched high IP on a counter beside the thumbmarked reg ister I Those five uncommunicative strangers wore traveling men and the expression on their facet ulc ted tluit they vrprc not wholly In sympathy with the sur roundings The oppressive silence was at last broi < un by 1 tho landlord Bad nlulit he sub as he came through the street door rubbing hU luinclH together Worse man that grunted the shoo salesman Still snowlnj1 Like this ole Harry replied the landlord land-lord grabbing f heavy Iron poker with which ho executed a spirited attack on the unwilling heater This iironsed lie dry eools hummer from his meditative stupor lie looked at his watch Eight oclock too early tt > GO u l > liml cant we get up a little game he naked addressing no one In particular but casting cast-ing his eyes ocr time crowd Gtimo of what spoke up the shoo anh3riui 0 any old thing How about a quiet little sicsslon of poker 111c Suits inc how about yomtD said the shoe Hidesman addressing a man lounging loung-ing low in his chair with his hat drawn down over his eyes He ins the grocery drummer tm I In I Anylhinc to forgot this town anil LimO weather the mustard ellcr re2i led rC Veil that four spoke up the dry nt lmtJ goods salesman counting on his misers Ulll you Join no The man addressed was the fifth mem 11 er her of the party Ho was rvnillnc the patent Inside of a conn try weekly nnrt looked up In u chased uninterested way lp wlion nwaro that hr was the one toward IWlro whom tho question was directed whom donl play Used to lie n poker Hand hit was cured the stranger re tortcd abruptly Like lo hear how I was cured WIK curcr wo wotilrt Never heard of a Inlced suru euro for poker before tho dry jroodB alrc drummer replied How islus I 7 Well first of al I must tell you that el frst 1 came from Jmlhinu where Thf four tnivrlhiK men fettled down In their elnilrs to hear the story t1h 5 1 nililt I came from Indiana wlioru they pli > poknr for keen15 I used to live In a Hmnll town so small It never got on tins miip but I wu had some Krenl pulcer Kuinos Used to play on the mdit you 18C11 nlos know niul I was tin lucklnst Indian you cv < r nil W Didnt know what It was to lose Tho fart of tho matter Is I got swellori on my luck and thought T couldnt be beat But I was beat and boat f hard In ole of the worst plays I ever sow and that Is why I quit poker We had a crowd o fellows who played together 1 the time Strangers aeltfom etlom broke Into tho game but one night Sam nions who owned the law office brought in a fjr < jen country lad amid Introduced him nil arojiml tH > wo hal to give him a luuiil I dont think that kId hail played hull a dozen games o pok < > r hi his life for his hands trembled l to Iipat the hand when hu bought thr first i l stack Every body sort r1J I Ditlcil him to we didnt dlInt churn him hard Finally the boy got excIted and pulled out a roll oC money ami spread the bills umkr hfq Mack of checks we wcte play tit table utulces yon know Kvervboclj kltldCfl him nntl I asked 1 him with horh show of Hureasm If lu expected to break the game He just chewed his gum and amllid a sickly bmllc that I never can forget rell pet down to he story I was lucky as usual anil before two hours hail passed was sitting behind half the checks on the table We played along sort of easy you know I how those games po until along some time after midnight I was a good J200 winner 1 luul hint tlnlshod counting my chocks and was thinking about cashing In to go homo mid get ready for church when I picked up my cjnds and found a beautiful beauti-ful I spndc flush khifr then a queen Tho deal was Just ahead of the farmer bonn bo-nn < he opencil the pot for 51 t l Hawkins and Garnish stayed before the play got around to me J modestly boosted the pot couldnt do anything else wllh that spade Hush Icing hltfli TJbuld I That 52 rnlm almost caused a death from heart illseauo My young friend across the tnblo csimo near fainting lie looked at JH chocks amid then at his cards and then scratched lila lcd His hamki trembled Ito a leaf In H ICan as windstorm ami he wns no excited ho couldnt Open his mouth Some wildly Insane In-sane Impulse pvldenlly prompted him to stay for he ran his chccUn up and down with hlr fingers and then doubtfully shoved In n git ub Garnish and Hawkins dropped out 11avlnB1 me to light It oul with the boy I laughed to myself was almost afraid to play aKQliist him for fear the Marshal would come In mil arrest me for stealing money But I had a bad tlnlsli and the worst of I Is that to this day I havent boon able to figure out that plav You set the Ill wrui ahead r the tlcnlor When It uitnc time lo draw cards he Just culpud down u lump In his throat threw his hand Into the middle of the tibia and excitedly saId Five I had a notion to let him draw nut his mOIl and call It off hut I didnt When the dcnlor looked lit me and Hull Curls I jUt tapped i ho table und looked wise The minute that I boy got I peak at hlu hand 1 knew he lull eomcthln for the blood left his fare and ho was white nn n Rhosl You should have been his hands tremble He 1 finally munturod up strength enouGh to check the hot ant I bit off f 3 worth of blues and shoved them nt him I thought my play would kill him but Im hnngctl If ho didnt Sao mo and go up with another 5 boost Then we went tit II I raise rind he raised unlll all of his checks one the pile of plo bills In front of him were decorating the center and I didnt have buttons enough left to laS a broad wagon Finally I cilleil because lhat was the only thing to do Tho minute tho words were out of my mouth I got a hunch Hint I was up against something Dont know why but just sort of felt that way you known know-n What you got T asked time kId l flush ho answered almost In D whl immcr high Flush here I retorted boldly King I never will forget time expression on that I youngsters face when ho hell that word king Ho 1 Jumped hulf out of his cmil and shouted I got nn ace up Then ho began to rake In Iho I money And he did have an act un with four moo uyly diamonds 1 took the wind out of me for a minute When J recovered re-covered I Just pushed my chair away from the table ami Rot up Never again f said 10 the crowd No mote poser In mIne That Is why I dont plav Dont blame you Bald tho shoo salesman sales-man sympathetically t And do you know the more 1 1 think about that phenomenal draw the more I am convinced It wasnt on tho inuarc Do you think i was 7 Chicago Tribune |