earned that Monell is doing time
at Sing Sing, along with "Paper Collar Joe," while Houstin is an
old man trying to lead a square life, I understand, down in Florida.
The late Sherman Thurston once said to me, "George, those fellows
are rotten apples;" but I did not heed his advice, and let them
alone.

SETTLED OUR HASH.

Jew Mose and myself were once traveling on the Missouri Railroad,
having headquarters at Cheyenne and making a good deal of money,
when one evening I picked up a man on the sleeper and beat him out
of $1,200. That game settled our hash, for he proved to be one of
the directors of the road, and as soon as he reached Omaha he had
a lot of handbills printed and hung up in the cars, not only
prohibiting gambling, but that conductors permitting the game on
their cars would be at once discharged. I was then running a game
in Greer Brothers' Gold Room Saloon, and occasionally slipped out
and started a game on some of the trains. There were a dozen cow-
boys aboard one night, when Mose opened out and took in a couple
of them. They began to drink heavily, and then resolved to make
the gambler disgorge. I expected fun, so I told Mose to get off
and jump on the engine at the first station. He was none too quick,
for the boys went through the train and never found him; but they
never said a word to me, as they supposed I was a sucker like
themselves, for at the time I was very roughly dressed. These cow-
boys, while very blustering when on the trains, were peaceable
enough when they entered a gambling-house; for the gamblers would
stand no foolishness with them, and were always prepared to draw
at a second's warning.

I RAISED THE LIMIT.

I recollect playing in a game of poker at one time on the steamer
_Natchez_. It was a five-handed game, and the party were all
friends of each other. We were playing on the square, with a
straight deck of cards and for a small limit. I could enjoy myself
in such a game for a limited time, then the old desire to play my
tricks would come over me, and I could not resist the temptation.
I did not want to beat my friends only on the square, but I did
want to have some fun; so I excused myself for a few moments and
left the table. On my return I sat in again, and the game went on
as before. We had been playing a short time, when one of the boys
picked up his hand, got a glimpse of it, and then threw it down as
quick as lightning, saying, "What's the limit?" All