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"Oh," he says, "if that’s all I get I’ll try to make ’em do. "

The pot was cracked and raised, and he stood the raise. I says to myself: "There goes my two bucks!" But no—he comes out with three queens and won the dough. It was only about seven bucks; but you’d of thought it was a million to see him grab it. He laughed like a kid.

"Guess I can’t play this game!" he says; and he had me fooled for a minute—I thought he must of been kiddin’ when he complained of only havin’ five cards.

He copped another pot right afterward and was sittin’ there with about eleven bucks in front of him when Jim opens a roodle pot for a buck. I stays and so does Elliott. Him and Jim both drawed one card and I took three. I had kings or queens—I forget which. I didn’t help ’em none; so when Jim bets a buck I throws my hand away.

"How much can I bet?" says the bug.

"You can raise Jim a buck if you want to," I says.

So he bets two dollars. Jim comes back at him. He comes right back at Jim. Jim raises him again and he tilts Jim right back. Well, when he’d boosted Jim with the last buck he had, Jim says:

"I’m ready to call. I guess you got me beat. What have you got?"

"I know what I’ve got, all right," says Elliott. "I’ve got a straight. " And he throws his hand down. Sure enough, it was a straight, eight high. Jim pretty near fainted and so did I.

The bug had started pullin’ in the dough when Jim stops him.

"Here!Wait a minute!" says Jim. "I thought you had somethin’. I filled up. " Then Jim lays down his nine full.

"You beat me, I guess," says Elliott, and he looked like he’d lost his last friend.

"Beat you?" says Jim. "Of course I beat you! What did you think I had?"

"Well," says the bug, "I thought you might have a small flush or somethin’. "

When I regained consciousness he was beggin’ for two more bucks.

"What for?" I says. "To play poker with? You’re barred from the game for life!"

"Well," he says, "if I can’t play no more I want to go to sleep, and you fellers will have to get out o’ this room. "

Did you ever hear o’ nerve like that?This was the first night he’d came in before twelve and he orders the bunch out so’s he can sleep!We politely suggested to him to go to Brooklyn.

Without sayin’ a word he starts in on his ‘Silver Threads’ and it wasn’t two minutes till the game was busted up and the bunch—all but me—was out o’ there. I’d of beat it too, only be stopped yellin’ as soon as they’d went.

"You’re same buster!" I says. "You bust up ball games in the afternoon and poker games at night. "

"Yes," he says; "that’s my business—bustin’ things. " And before I knowed what he was about he picked up the pitcher of ice-water that was on the floor and throwed it out the window—through the glass and all.

Right then I give him a plain talkin’ to. I tells him how near he come to gettin’ canned down in St. Louis because he raised so much Cain singin’ in the hotel.

"But I had to keep my voice in shape," he says. "If I ever get dough enough to get married the girl and me’ll go out singin’ together. "

"Out where?" I ast.

"Out on the vaudeville circuit," says Elliott.

"Well," I says, "if her voice is like yours you’ll be wastin’ money if you travel round. Just stay up in Muskegon and we’ll hear you, all right!"