| Show stake on the turn of a card was land worth a fortune that somewhat story in the recent cable news about the mississippi colonel promoter who succeeded in batting out of ahe monte carlo institution of chance in two weeks play sounds pretty good but it seems to me that it took him a long time to get hold of a little money like that remarked a member of oldest inhabitants association whose only prolonged ab s ence from the capital during sixt years occurred when he joined tha in california 1 I once saw that sprightly young man lucky baldwin win in considerably less than a minute although there were n cables or telegraphs at that time to flash the news of the thing around the wald tb at happened one night in september 1856 baldwin owned several acres of fine land on the crest of what is now known as nob hill in sau francisco this property even at that time on account of its obvious value for high grade residence purposes was worth easily tom Van brugh atie proprietor of the el dorado a big san francisco gambling club owned faro banks all the length of the slope as tar as it was then settled in addition to possessing a big gambling club in the city ot mexico and he was a millionaire several times over Van brugh talked about selling it Van brugh owned a whole block on lower barkat street on walca baldwin wanted to build it was worth about the same amount as baldvins baldwins Bald wins nob hill ground Van brugh had offered to trade the market street block for tho piece ot nob hill land but baldwin listen to him the way it stool between baldwin and Van brugh on this night in september 1856 when baldwin strolled along toward midnight into the el dorado after having blind pretty cozily somewhere or other Van brugh was sitting at a desk in his private room just off the main faro bank when baldwin stepped in hello tom said baldwin to vaa brugh how are you feeling still nob hilly replied Van brugh when are you going to transfer the deed of that piece ot ground to me anyway tom replied baldwin im get ting hiroi of hearing you talk about that ground come out here and get behind the box and lucky led the dav into the main faro room van brugh seeing thai thera was going to be something doing characteristically followed him with alacrity tha dealer at one ot the no limit tables was just shuffling the cards for another boxful sit down there tom and gel busy taid baldwin to Van brugh pointing to the dealers beair Van brugh motioned to the dealer who elid out ol 01 the chair Van brugh slid into it it the ace loses tom baldwin said without a trace ot excitement to Van brugh the nob hill ground is yours it the aco wins the market street block Is mine how about that Van brugh nodded ha shuffled he cards did the unusual courtesy in taro bank of passing them over to baldwin to cut lucky could cut twenty six cards as well as any veteran faro bank dealer and slid the cards into the box with your permission said Vanh nigh to the other players around tho table whose play had been interrupted and they leaned back in their chairs to watch the outcome baldwin removed the round topped panama from hla head and the cab bage leaf which he always wore inside of his hat in hot weather fell to the floor lust as Van brugh started to elide the cards out of the box balfa win stooped to pick up the piece of cabaco leaf and replace it in his bat before be stood up erect again ho was owner of hs market street block tho aco bad como nut on the right side for baldwin while be was stooping over it your namo a fit lucky ill be waa all that Van brugh said and on tha following morning he transferred the market street property to baldwin washington post |
