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Show THE The Rattled He was credited with being as influential as any one there was, among voters, but he had a rival in another man named Gilmartin, who was a logger himself, but had for a dozen seasons been foreman of one gang or another. Martin was a Rhymester. In the spring a young man’s fancy ' Lightly turns to—two ahead! | In the spring—say, who’s a pitching? Lightly turns to—got him dead! In the spring—another bagger! In the spring—they’ve knocked him out! In the spring the young man’s fancy— Lordy! hear the bleachers shout! rich ’Nother hit! man’s—wow! Tn the spring the—crowd’s Lightly turns to—that’s In the spring—oh! I must go and NT BS Mn oS —Cleveland Post. HAS OFTEN BEEN called the National game of , America,’’ said the gray-hair, middle-aged man in the club smoking room, but I fancy there are few citizens who fully appreciate how much influence it has exerted on the destinies of the nation in -.one way and another. We hear stories now and again of the winning and the losing of fortunes, and sometimes how large estates and mining properties have been staked on the chances lying between two hands, and labbyist in the country is familiar with the old device of losing large game with a legislator whose one side or the other. Such enough, sway public interests sums in a friendly vote is desired on things, naturally as well as private to no small extent, but I have seen a seat in the United States Senate lost on four queens.”’ “Of eourse, you_are not talking seriously,”’ peak said one of the party. ‘‘ But I am,’’ was the answer, ‘‘ seriously and literally. It happened in Minnesota soon after the war. Political conditions in that part of the. West were very different to what they are now, and in fact all other conditions were, too. It was at about the beginning of the Northwest. had been wegian lumber of the real growth The value of the wheat fields learned, but the Swedish and Nor- making com- immigration was in its infaney, and the industry, that afterward grew to such - enormous proportions, was then paratively few rich men. Minneapolis was a small town on the south side of the river, and St. Anthony was a town of the same size on the other side. Now it’s all one city but then nobody dreamed of St. Paul being eclipsed in size or importance, ‘“‘T was knocking about late one summer at that period, and had made many friends around St. Paul and Minneapolis, some of whom were state officials, and I had heard much talk of the struggle there was to be in the next legislature over the election of a senator. Two men were in the race,*and as they were both popular the contest wao likely to be acloseone. Party questions did not enter in, for the state was strongly Republican, and no Democrat stood a show. But which of the Republicans would carry the legislature was a matter of great doubt, and I saw bets made on the issue as early as the first of September. As the time of the election drew near, it was evident that the choice for senator was going to govern the nomination of candi-. dates for the legislature, and as both the sena- torial aspirants were long of head as well as long of purse, they were using all the influence they had in the county conventions which held early in October. were to be the lumbermen lived came ‘* Right there was where the importance of the lumber industry came in. The money on which to them Anthony, in the upper counties mostly and through the Minneapolis perfectly and Gilmartin in winter’s the was never spring, pay. These so very when two he had men were known to be strong partisans, one favoring one of the would-be senators and the other the other, and it was generally thought that they would both go electioneering when the county conventions were held. ‘¢The week before that would happen I was one of the party who diove from Minneapolis to a road house on the Fort Snelling road near the Minnehaha Falls, partly for the enjoyment of the A STAKE. OKER ===} every 7-———_ uyas the game! SEAT Qe ~ is— a shame! jam his fancy! watch SENATE a bowling! but excepting drawn his wow! It’s five to four! man, flush, In the spring—he must have got it! roesus, what an awful roar! In the spring the young ARGUS. St. moonlight and partly for the game supper such as the house was famous for providing. Martin was one of the party, and as there were two or three other high-rollers with us, I had made up my mind that it would be daybreak before we | | would get back. ‘“T was right, but before the night was over we had more excitement than I had expected. We had had supper and an abundance of good wines with it, and were sitting around the table enjoying some rarely good punch when somcbody proposed poker. Nobody objected, and in a few minutes were two games in progress, for one, $10 being the limit, and the cards ran well enough to build up some heavy pots. We had all indulged freely enough to give ourselves thoroughly to the enjoyment of the hour, though we had not been drinking heavily, and there Altowasn’t a man there under the influence. Suddenly gether it was a delightful occasion. the door opened, and Gilmartin looked in. “<7 don’t want to ‘“rough in” boys,’ he said, ‘but I stopped here to get supper on the way home, and the landlord told me you were here, so I thought I’d ask you to drink with me.’ ‘‘He was greeted heartily, for everybody knew liked and him, and a bumper of was punch poured out for him forthwith, his invitation being Then, asa matperemptorily laid on the table. ter of course, it was suggested that he take a hand in the game, and, being more than willing, he sat at our table. “Were playing $10 limit, Gil,’ said one of the party, who knew that money was not always But he laughed plentiful with the big fellow. carelessly and said: ‘ That’s all right,’ as he pulled out $50 and bought chips. ‘“Martin looked at him rather keenly, as I thought, for an instant, and said : ‘¢ “Been out to St. Paul to-night, Gil?’ ““*Ves.-T have,’ said Gilmartin, and I was sure that | saw a half-laughing look of defiance It puzzled me at the on his face as he answered. moment, but I understood: the question and anMartin, it seemed, suspected swer afterward. that Gilmartin had perfected his arrangements to go electioneering, and that he had the money in his pocket with which he was expected to do his It was this that he had asked by implicawork. tion, and Gilmartin, understanding him perfectly and knowing that he could not keep his secret long from the other, had admitted it. As it proved, he had $5,000 in greenbacks with him. ‘The game went on without any special development for perhaps half an hour before I noticed that Martin was playing against Gilmartin as heavily as he could and only trying to hold Gilmartin held his own against the rest of us. his end up fairly, and was not far from even when Martin got his first good chance at him. It was a pretty play, too, for Gilmartin thought, as the rest of us did, that Martin was bluffing when he stood pat and contented himself with coming in without a raise every time it came his bet, until the rest of us had dropped out. Then he raised Gilmartin the limit. Gilmartin had a jack-high flush and was confident, so they had it back and forth till Gilmartin called and gave up $100 to an ace flush. legitimate business relations between them and the business men of those two cities naturally gave the latter much influence among the former. There was a rollicking, happy-go-lucky man in Minneapolis whom everybody called ‘Doe’ Martin, for no reason that I could discover except that he wasn’t a doctor. He was part owner in a saw mill and spent the mest of each winter in the woods with bis men. there there were eleven in the party. Six played at one table, and Martin and I and three others were at the other. The game was a fairly stiff but “That was the heaviest pot for a long time, presently the two got together again and Gilmartin lost $100 more. Then he grew a little nervous and Martin grew cooler. Then Gilmartin became angry, though he controlled himself tolerably well, and 1 was sure that Martin would It came my deal soon So it proved. beat him. tin opened it. We Gilmar and t, jack-po a in after s all came in, standing Martin’ raise. I had aces but didn’t better in the draw,.so I laid down after one raise. Martin drew three cards, as did each of the others, except Gilmartin, who drew— two. He bet the limit and the next man laid down, Martin raised it the limit, and another man and myself dropped out. Gilmartin raised and the fourth man threw down his cards. That left the two alone again, and Martin raised back. ‘“““Ten better than you,’ said Gilmartin savagely, and then with a short laugh, he added: ‘ You won’t get away with me this time.’ ‘““<Tf you think so,’ said Martin | quietly, ‘what do you say to taking off the limit?”’ ‘«< That will suit me exactly,’ said Gilmartin, and Martin pushed up his last blue. chip, and a $100 bill. 3 | ‘<1! see that and go you five hundred better,’ said Gilmartin, eagerly, as he skinned the bills off from a big roll that he drew from an inside pocket. | ‘“* Does my check go?’ asked Martin. ‘I haven’t so much money with me.’ ‘*¢ It’s good for fifty thousand, and you know it,’ said Gilmartin. : i ‘«*T raise.you a thousand,’ said Martin. ‘“*And I’ll go you a thousand better,’ exclaimed the other. He was getting excited, but nobody dared to speak. It was a serious matter to interfere in a game like that. ‘* “A thousand better,’ was the response. — ‘* Gilmartin hesitated. He looked at his cards and thought fora moment. Then he counted his money. : ***7?]] have to call you,’ he said, finally, ‘ for I’ve only got twelve hundred left.’ “* Martin’s face was impassive. He, too, hes- itated a moment, and then he spoke. | | ‘‘*Vll put up five thousand more, if you want to play for it,’ he said. ‘* “But Low can 1? I tell you I haven’t any: more money,’ said Gilmartin, looking puzzled. ‘‘* Tf you will give me your promise to go as far south as St. Louis for sixty days, and tell nobody that you are going, I’ll take that as an equivalent for the five thousand,’ said Martin, very slowly and distinctly. | ‘‘Gilmartin flushed. He knew that everybody in the room understood the proposition. He was asked to sell out his honor, for going away in that fashion meant betraying his employer and running away with his money, as well as leaving him in the lurch. I expected to-hear an indignant and indeed outburst the of invective and abuse, man was about to speak when another thought seemed to strike him, and he The gambling fever had grew deathly white. seized him, and he looked at his cards again. ‘* While he was hesitating Martin spoke again, and the devilish coolness of his speech made me. shudder. ‘‘*T need not say anything to impress on the — minds of all the gentlemen present that this is a private party,’ he said, ‘and that nothing which | happens here can be told outside while it can by any possibility work injury to any one concerned.’ ‘Gilmartin looked around at every man in the room, and seeing by our faees recognized the obligation, he seemed that we all nerved, as Martin had meant that he should be, to take the ” risk, ‘Pl take the bet,’ he said at length, and he spoke desperately. ‘But God help you, Martin, if you win it; I don’t believe you can, for I’ve got almost a sure hand.’ ‘““*Tf you lose,’ said Martin, ‘you have no ~ cause of quarrel with me. I’m not forcing you to play. But if you mean enmity, all right. [ll | gamble your friendship, too, along with the rest, if you like.’ | “So be it,’ said Gilmartin. ‘It’s a call, then. If you lose you pay me five thousand. If I lose I leave.’ » , | | ‘* “Correct,’ said Martin, and the hands were shown. se “Martin had drawn to kings and caught the other two. Gilmartin had drawn to three queens and drawn the other. = ‘* His face as he left the room was such a picture as I hope never to see again, but he kept to At least, I imagine he did, for he his bargain. was not seen again in that part of the country while I was there. I never spoke to Martin again, but his friend was elected Senator at the next session of the legislature by a majority of two votes. Both men are dead, or I would not have told the story.’’—New York Sun. o-fth_o Cea ae The great Intermountain weekly—Tue Araus. | |