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About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 3, 1924)
ttsm ■■» > 1 ■' jsssssjssU' '' "" vr;.1’: , imms± •‘Some era about that time. But didn’t last long—not more’u two minutes,” Bill responded. “As foh fluids demanded by the human system, we arc abund antly blessed auh. There is ■curcely any popular brand that vou can’t get in Benton, and I bold that we have the most skill ful mixtologists in history. There are some who are artists; art ists, suh. But mainly we prefer our likker straight.” iyJs'.We’re higbj too.” Bill put in. “Well overJfeven tndusand feet, ’cordin’ to them railroad engi neers ” “Yes, suh, yon are a mile and more hearer Heaven here in Benton than you were when be tide the noble Hudson,” supple mented th't Colonel, “and the prices of living are reasonable; foh money, suh, is cheap and ready to hand. No drink is less than two bitif, and a man won’t tote a match across the street foh less than a drink. Money grows, suh, foh the picking. Our merchants are clearing thirty thousand dollars a month, and the professional gentleman who tries to limit his game is considered a low-down tin-horn. Yea, auh. This is the greatest terminal of the greatest railroad in the known world. It has Omaha, No’th Platte, Cheyenne beat to a frazzle. You cartnot fail to prosper.” They had been critically watching me wash and rearrange my clothing. “You are not heeled, suh, I see?” “Heeled?” I repeated. “Equipped with a shooting iron, suh. Or do you intend to remedy that deficiency also?” 1..._ _a _ BaBU A llil T V t M V U 4U l-MV of carrying arms.” “ ’Most everybody packs a run or a bowie,” Bill remarked. “Gents and ladies both. But there’s no law ag’in not.” I had finished my meager toilet, and was glad, for the es pionage had been annoying. “Now I am at your service during a short period, gentle men,” I announced. “Later I have an engagement, and shall ask to be excused.” The Colonel rose with alacrity. Bill stood, and seized his hat hanging at the head of the bed. “A little liquid refreshment is in order fust, I reckon,’’quoth the Colonel. “I claim the priv ilege, of course. And after that—you have sporting blood, suh? You will desire to take a turn or two fob the honor of the Empire State!” The inference was not quite dear. To develop it I replied guardedly, albeit unwilling to pose as a milksop. “I assuredly am not averse to any legitimate amusement.” “That’s it;’’ Bill .commented, “Nobody is, who has red in him; •nd a fellow can see you’ve cut yore eye-teeth. What might you prefer, in the line of a pass-thc time, on spec’!” “What is there, if you please!” i encouraged. lie and the Colonel gravely contemplated each other. Bill scratched his head, and slowly closed one eye. "There’s a good open game of r.tud at the North Star,” he prof fered. “I kin get the gentle man a seat. No limit.” " Maybe our friend s luekdon’t nm to stud,” hazarded the Colo nel. "Stud exacts the powers of concentration, like faro!” Aud be also closed one eye. I- “It’s rather early in the even ing ton close quarters. Are you particularly partial to the tiger or the cases, suh?” he queried of me. "Or would you be able to secure transient happiness in short games, foh a starter,while we move along, like a bee from flower to flower, gathering his honey?” “If you are referring to card gambling, sir,” I answered, “you have chose a poor companion. But I do not intend to be a spoil sport, and I shall be glad,to have you show me whatever you thmk worth while in the city, so far as I have the leisure.” * “That’s it, that’s it, suh.” The Colonel appeared delighted. "Let us libate to the gods of chance, gentlemen; and then take a stroll.” "My bag will be safe here?” I prompted, as we were about to file out "Absolutely, suh. Personal property is respected in Benton. We'd hang the man who moved that Jfcag of yours the fraction of one inch." This at least was comforting. > B As much could not be said of New York Citj'. The Colonel Jed down the echoing hall and the shaking stairs, into the lobby, peopled as before by men in all modes of attire and clustered mainly at the bar. He led di rectly to the bar itself. “Three, Ed. Name your lik ker, gentlemen. A little double X foil me, Ed.” “Old rye,” Bill briefly ordered. The bartender set out bottle and whiskey glasses, and looked upon me. I felt that the bystand <,vfs were waiting. My garb pro claimed the “pilgrim” but I was resolved to be my own mas ter, and for liquor I had no taste. “Lemonade, if you have it,” I faltered. “Yes, sir.” The bartender cracked not a smile, but a uni versal sigh, broken by a few snig gers. voiced the appraisal of the audience. Some of the loafers eyed me amusedly, some turned away. “Surely, suh, you will temper that with a dash of fortifiah,” 1 lie Colonel protested. “A pony of brandy, Ed— or just a dash to cut the water in it. To me, suh, the water in this country is vile—inimical to the human stomick.” “Thank you,” said I, “but I prefer plain lemonade.” “The gent wants his pizen straight, same as the rest of you,’ calmly remarked the bartender. My lemonade being prepared, the Colonel and Bill tossed off full glasses of whiskey, ack nowledged wi&kthroaty “ A-ah !” and smack of lips; and I hastily quaffed my lemonade. From the dollar which the Colonel grandly flung upon the bar he re ceived no change—by which I might figure that whereas whis key was twenty-five cents the glass, lemonade was fifty cents. We issued into the street and were at once engulfed by a fer ment of sighs and sounds extra ordinary. CHAPTER V. ON GRAND TOUR The sun had set and all the golden twilight was hazy with the dust suspended in swirl and strata over the ugly roofs. In the canvas-faced main street the throng and noiae had increased rather than diminished at the ap proach of dusk. Although clat ter of dishes mingled with the cadence, the people acted as if they had no thought of eating; and while aware of certain pangs myself, I felt a diffidence in pro posing supper as yet. My two companions hesitated a moment, spying up and down, which gave me opportunity to view the scene anew. Surely such an hotch-potch never before populated an American town; Men flannel shirted, high booted, shaggy haired and bearded, stumping along weighted with excess of belts and formidable revolvers balanced, not infre quently, by sheathed butcher knives—men whom I took to be teamsters, miners, railroad grad ers, and the like; other men white skinned.clean shaven ex cept perhaps for moustaches and goatees, in in whit silk shirts or ruf^ied bosoms, broadcloth trous ers and trim footgear, ,unarmed, td all appearance, but evidently respected; men of Eastern garb like myself—tourists, maybe, or merchants; a squad *f surveyors in picturesque neckerchiefs, and revolver girted; trainmen, grimy engineers and firemen; derks, as I opined, dapper and bustling, clad in the latest fashion, with diamonds in flashy ties and heavy gold watch chains across their fancy waistcoats; soldiers; men whom I took to be Mexicans, by their velvet jackets, slashed pantaloons | and fila greed hats; darkly weathered, leathery' faced, long-haired personages, no doubt seouts and trappers, in fringed buckskins and beaded moccasins; blanket wrapped In dians ; and women. Of the women a number were unmistakable as to vocation, be ing lavishly painted, strident, and bold, and significantly dres sed. I saw several in amazing costumes of tightly fitting black like ballet girls, low aeeked, short skirted, around the smooth waists snake-skin belts support ing .handsome little pistols and dainty poi guards. Contrasted there were women of other class and, I did not doubt, of better re pute; some ‘u gown? and bonnets that would do them credit any where in New York, and some, of 1 '■"’V *. ctwse, more commonly attired in calico and gingham as proper to the humbler station of laun dresses, cooks, and so forth The uproar was a jargon of shouts, hails, muaie, hammering, harking, scuff of feet, trample of horses and oxen, rumble of creak ing wagons and Concord stages. ’'Well, suh,” spoke theColonel, pulling hit hat over his eyes, “shall we stroll a piece?” “Might better,’’assented Bill. “The gentleman may find some thing of interest right in the open. IIow are you on the goose, sir?” he demanded of me. “The goose?” I uttered. “Yes. Keno.” “I’m a stranger to the goose,” said I. He grunted. “It gives a quick turn for a small stake. So do the three card and rondo." Of passageway there was not much choice between the middle of the street and the borders Seemed to me as we weaved along through groups of idlers and among busily stepping peo ple that every other shop was a saloon, with door widely open and bar and gambling tables well attended. The odor of liquor saturated the acrid dust. Yet the genuine shops, even of the rudest construction, were piled from the front to the rear with commodities of all kinds, and goods were yet heaped upon the ground in front and behind as if the merchantshad no time for un packing. The incessant ham mering, I ascertained, came from amateur carpenters, including mere boys, here and there en gaged as if life depended upon their efforts, in erecting more buildings from knocked-down sections like cardboard puzzles and from lumber already cut and numebered. My guides nodded right and left with “Hello, Frank," “How are you, l)an?" “Evening, Char ley," and so on. Occasionally the Colonel swept off his hat, with elaborate deference, to a woman, but I looked in vain for my lady in black. I did not see her— nor did I see her peer, de spite the fact that now and then I observed a face and a figure of apparent attractiveness. Above the staccato of conver sation aird exclamation there arose the appeals of the barkrs for th gambling rsorts. “This way. Shall we see what he’s got?" the Colonel invited. Forthwith veering aside he cros sed the street in obedience to a summons of whoops and shouts that set the very dust to vibrat ing. A crowd had gathered before a youth— a perspirating, red faced youth with a billy-cock hat shovd back upon his bulle head —a youth in galluses and soiled shirt and belled pantaloons, who, standing upon a box for eleva tion, was exhorting at the top of his lungs “Whoo-oop! This way, this way! Everybody this way! Comeon, you rondo-coolo sports! Give us a bet! A bet! Rondo coolo-oh! Rondo coolo-oh! Here’s your easy money! Down with your soap! Let her roil! Rondo coolo-oh;' ’ it s a great game, suh,” the Colonel flung back over his shoulder. We pushed forward, to the front. The center for the crowd was a table not unlike a small billiard table or, saving the ab sence of pins, a tivoli table such nr- enjoyed Sy children. But across one end there were sev eral holes, into which balls, ten or a dozen, resembling miniature billiard balls, might roll. The balls had been banked, in customary pyramid shape for a break as in pool, at the opposite end; and just as we arrived they had been propelled all for ward, scattering, by a short cue rapidly swept across their base. “Rondo coolo, suh,” the Colo nel was explaining,“as you see, is an improvement on the old rondo, foh red-blooded people. You may place your bets in va rious ways, on the general run, or the odd or even; and as the bank relies, suh, only one per centage, the popular game is strictly square. There is no chance foh a brace in rondo coolo. Shall we take a turn foh luck?” The crowd was craning and eyeing the gyrating balls expect antly. A part of the balls enter ed the pockets; the remainder came to rest. “Rondo,” announced the man with the short cue, amidst ex cited ejaculations from winners and loosers. And according to a system which I failed to grasp, except that it comprised the num ber of ball pocketed, he deftly distributed from one collection of checks and coins to another, quickly absorbed by greedy hands. “She rolis again. Make your bets, ladies and gents,” he in toned. “It’s rondo coolo—sim ple rondo coolo.’ And he reas sembled the balls. “I prefer not to play, sir,” I responded to the heavily breath ing Colonel. I am new here and I cannot afford to lose until I am better established.” “Never yet seen a man who couldn’t afford to win, though,” Bill growled. “'Basy pickin’, too But come on, then. We’ll give you a straight steer some Vs else.” So we left the crowd— con taining indeed women as well as men—to their insensate fervor over a childish game under the stimulation of the raucous, sweat ing barker. Of gambling de vices, in the open of .the street, there was no end. My conduc tors appeared to have the passion, for our course led from one meth od of hazard to another—rou lette, chuck-a-luck where the pa trons cast dice for prizes of money and valuables arrayed up on numbered squares of an oil cloth covered board, keno where numbered balls were decanted one at a time from a bottle-shap ed leather receptacle called, I learned, the “goose,” and the players kept fab by filling in little cards as in domestic lotto; and finally we stopped at the simplest apparatus of all. “The spiel game for me, gen tlemen,” said the Colonel. “Here it i3. Yes, suh, there’s nothing like monte, where any man is privileged to match his eyes against fingers. Nobody but a blind man can lose at monte, by George! ” “And this spieler’s on the level,” Bill pronounced, sotto voice. “I vote we hook him for a gudgeon, and get the price fo a meal. Our friend will join us in the turn. He can see for him self that he can’t lose. He’s got sharp eyes.” The bystanders here were sta tioned before a man sitting at a low tripod table; and all that he had was the small table—a plain cheap table with folding legs— and three playing cards. Busi ness was a trifle slack. I thought that his voice crisped aggressively as we elbowed through, while he sat idly skim ming the three cards over the table, with a flick of his hand. “Two jacks, and the ace, gen tlemen. There they are. I have faced them tip. Now I gather them slowly—you can’t miss them. Observe closely. The jack on top, between thumb and forefinger. The ace next—ace in the middle. The other jack bottom-most.” He turned his hand, with the three cards in a tier, so that all might see. “The ace is the winning card. You are to locate the ace. Observe closely again. It’s my hand against your eyes. I am going to throw. Who wftTrspot the acef Watch, everybody. Ready! Go!” The backs of the cards were up. With a swift move ment he released the three, spreading them in a neat row, face down, upon the table. He carelessly shifted them hither and thither—and his fingers were marvelously nimble, lightly touehing. “Twenty dollars a gainst your twenty that you can’t pick out the ace, first try. I’ll let the cards lie. I shan’t disturb them. There they are. If you’ve watched the ace fall, you win. If you haven’t, you lose unless you guess right.” “ Just do that trick again, will you, for the benifit of my friend here?” bade the Colonel. me spicier —a tnm-nppea, cadaverous individual, his soft hat cavalierly aslant, his black hair combed flatly in a curve down upon his damp fore-head, a pair of sloe eyes, and a flannel shirt open upon his bony chest— glanced alert. He smiled. “Hello, sir. I’m agreeable. Yes, sir. But as they lie, will you make a guessT No! Or you, sir!” And he addressed Bill. “No! Then you, sir!” He ap pealed to me. “No! But I’m a mind-reader. I can tell by your eyes. They’re upon the right end card. Aha! Correct.” He had turned up the card and shown the ace. “You should have bet. You would have beat en me, sir. You’ve got the eyes. I thiriVyou’ve seen this game be fore. Not Ah, but you have, or else you’re born lucky. Now 1*11 try again. For the benefit of these three gentlemen I will try again. Kindly reserve your bets, friends all, and you shall have your chance. This game never Rtops. I am always after revenge Watch the ace. I pick up the cords. Ace first—blessed ace; and the jacks. Watch close. There you are.” He briefly ex posed the faces of the cards. “Keep your eyes upon the aoe. Ready—gol” Ifeast Foam good bread Bread making is easy to learn and is in itself an education in other cooking. Send for free booklet 4trrhe Art of Baking Breadn A good will helps to a good under standing. Grafters often break in where bur glars fear to ^tread. Rather. 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