Noticing his excited condition, I said, "Put down as much as you
think proper, and if you go too high I'll tell you." With that he
pulled out a long pocket-book, and drawing forth a roll of hundred-
dollar bills threw them on the red. I picked up the money and
counted it, and found there were thirty-three one-hundred-dollar
bills.
"That's beyond my limit," I said; "but as I know you are a great
deal heavier loser than that, I'll give you a chance to get even,
so crack her down."
I made a turn, he lost. With a trembling hand and wild eye he
counted out the balance of his money and laid it before me, saying:
"This is my last bet; if I lose, there is $4,000, and there is $200
more. Will you turn for it?"
"Lay her up," was all I said.
Down it went, just as any high-roller would do if he had some one
else's money; he lost, and fell back in his chair in a dead faint;
ice water was brought and he was revived. After the game he came
to me and said, "Not a dollar of that money was my own; it belonged
to a wealthy New York firm, one of the members of which I was to
meet in New Orleans, and render an account." I told him that he
would have to say that the money was invested in cotton that would
be shipped in a few days. "That will give you time to skip," I
said, "for the affair is bound to come out, and then you will be
in trouble."
"No," he said, "I won't run away. I have thought of a plan that
will let me out of the scrape. There is another man on the boat
who is buying for the same firm. I will go to him and get a bundle
of money which I will hand to you privately, and then you come
before the passengers and hand it to me. You can say, 'I don't
want your money, so here it is, take it.' I will thank you kindly,
and there will be plenty of witnesses to say that I did not lose
the money gambling." I did exactly as the fellow wanted, much to
the astonishment of the passengers, who said that I must either be
the biggest-hearted man in the country, or the biggest fool that
ever ran unhung, to give a man back that much money after fairly
winning it.
When New Orleans was reached I was arrested, but easily proved that
I had returned the money, or rather refused to take it, and was
discharged; but the good old greenbacks were safe in my inside
pocket, all the same.