Show r I Adventurers' Adventurers 1 L' L k Club L t 1 f i. i 0 A 1 No Dic Dice t. t By FLOYD GIBBONS r. r I. I Famous Headline Hunter N NOW V OW the moral of this stor story boys bos and girls is that gambling doesn't pay Not that I need an any story to convince me inn of it I once bet two bucks on a horse I thought would come in in first at Saratoga and the next time I saw him was two years later pulling the steam calliope in a circus parade in Denver Yep its it's risky business letting a horse invest your money for you but not half as risky as the chances Lieutenant Tommy Griffin of the Eighteenth infantry Fort Wadsworth N. N Y took when he started wooing wooing wooing woo woo- ing Lady Luck that fateful July night back in 1922 Lieutenant Tommy has gone a long way in the army since 1922 Then he was just plain Private Tommy of the OneHundred One Hun OneHundred dred and Seventeenth field artillery a national guard outfit of Goldsboro N. N C. C The One Hundred and Seventeenth was doing its regular two weeks' weeks field work at Fort Bragg It was a hot night and some of the boys were holding cava cavalry ry maneuvers on a blanket in one of the tents For horses they were using little white spotted cubes and those horses were galloping back and forth across the blanket in a way that would have scared an enemy army out of at least six weeks' weeks pay Tommy and Pal Are Attracted by Galloping Ivories Of course an unsympathetic officer of the day might have suspected that those fellows were shooting craps but Im I'm going to take Tommys Tommy's word for it that those shouts of Come on seven that came from the i tent were just the cries of excited rooters who wanted to see the Seventh regiment win Tomm Tommy and a friend were coming back from an evening in a nearby town when they heard the boys cheering the Seventh regiment on There was also a lot of encouragement being given to Big Dick who I presume was the thc captain of the Seventh regiment and Little Joe who must have been the first lieutenant The rooting attracted Tomm Tommy and his pal and they dropped into the tent to see what was going on There were three men in the tent tent tent-a a sergeant named Joe and two r privates Bill BiH and John The sergeant had been drinking and he rolled t F- F l r e The Argument Got Pretty Hot for a Minute out the ivories with a sort of grim determination He had lost several dollars and Tommy could see that he wasn't taking it any too well Losing Sergeant Returns to Make Trouble The other two lads were in a jovial mood though neither one of them had imbibed any alcohol John had the dice and Tommy watched him while he set a point made it and picked up his winnings And it r was right there that the friendly game began to take on a serious aspect Joe the sergeant ergeant claimed that John hadn't won the money and told him bim to put it down There was an argument that got pretty hot for a minute but in the end John put the dough back just to humor him and the play was resumed A couple more throws and Joe left weaving his way unsteadily out of the door But a few minutes later he was back again a 45 revolver in his hand and an ugly scowl on his face Joe was looking for trouble That much was plain to everybody He began to accuse John of Jf f talking about him behind his back His finger was tight against the trigger and looking over Tommy could see the yellow of cartridge rims in the chamber of the gun There was no joke about it That gat was loaded Drunken Maniacs Maniac's Bullet Wak Wakes s John Up Tommy didn't wait for any more He made a leap for Joe and grabbed the gun But Joe kept his grip on the revolver too and the pair of them rolled over on the tent floor fighting desperately for possession possession possession pos pos- session of the weapon I Says Tommy I ul wasn't sure I could hold him long and I 1 I yelled to John to go away He just sat there looking at me Then suddenly Joe pulled the trigger There was a sharp crack that deafened me for a minute and a bullet whizzed by my head bead and ripped on out through the top of the tent I should have been scared then but I At that moment I was too excited to feel the effects of fear car And still John sat calmly on his cot watching Tommy wrestle with the drunken maniac Whether he was dazed dozed or scared stiff or just thought it was all a joke Tommy never learned But he sat there until another shot rang out and this time the Bullet hit John in the hip That broke the spell John leaped to his feet and streaked out of the tent Tommy says hes he's never seen a man run so fast in his l life e. e I Tommy Stares Into the Muzzle of a 45 i Tommy was tired by that time time dead dead tired Joe was strong as a I j null Dull and he knew hed he'd never be able to get that gun away from him John was gone he says and I didn't think Joe would shoot me I I took a chance and let him go He got up drunk and furious and for a full minute I lay on the ground staring into the muzzle of the 45 That's when I did get scared I have never seen a gun muzzle grow to look so large I expected every second to be my last and I beg began n wishing he would wood shoot and get it over with But no He just stood there fingers convulsing convulsing convulsing con con- on the trigger face purple with rage Then all of a sudden he seemed to realize that John had gone and he ran out of the tent after hi him m. m I I That was the beginning of the end In another ten seconds the whole camp was in an uproar They caught Joe and took I him to the guardhouse and later they found Johnny and sent him to a hospital where he spent several weeks getting over overt t that wound in the hip And Tommy says th that t just about the time John got out of the hospital was when his nerves quieted down and his hair stopped standing stand stand- ing mg on end r t Service I |