While in St. Louis just before the war, I got acquainted with a
man from Detroit by the name of James Scott. He was dealing faro
bank, and was such a square fellow that all the boys would play
against him. He had a big game one evening, and had downed quite
a number of the boys, but he did it on the square. He quit dealing
to go and get his supper, and while he was out the boys tried to
think of some scheme to stick him for enough money to get a square
meal for themselves. Finally one of them thought of the same racket
that I played on my Jew partner, and they manufactured a sucker.
When Jim came back, they were playing a single-handed game of poker.
Jim loved poker, and as he had not finished picking his teeth, he
stopped at the table to look on. That was just what the boys
expected and wanted, so the two hands were run up. Jim was behind
the fellow that had the three kings and a pair of sevens; but just
after he saw them, some one spoke to him on the other side, so he
went around the table. The man with the kings made a big raise,
and the other fellow said it was more money than he had. Jim saw
his three aces and a pair, so he said: "I am with you, old boy,
for $1,000." The money was put up, and then the sucker said he
had made a mistake in his hand, and wanted to take down his money;
but everybody said he could not take down. Then the fellow threw
down two cards and called for two more. The old boy (Jim's partner)
gave them to him, and the sucker made another raise just large
enough to use up the balance of Jim's thousand. The old boy called
the bet just in time to save Jim from putting up another thousand,
for they did not want to strike him too heavy the first time. They
showed down, and the sucker had caught another king in the draw,
and he won the pot. Jim did not say a word, but began to deal the
bank. The next night some of the boys that had eaten a good supper
at Jim's expense invited him to the theatre. Jim wanted to know
the play; they told him "The Hidden Hand." Jim said, "No, boys;
I saw that play last night, and I would not see it again for $1,000."
Jim is now living in Detroit, and is one of the wealthiest men in
the city. His father left him a fortune, and he has not laid down
a dollar on a gambling table since; yet he likes the boys, and can
tell some of the best stories of any man in this country. He is
very fond of the theatres, but he says he never goes when they play
"The Hidden Hand."