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 That Florafountin Murder Case the various possibilities.

The horror of

the situation began to grow upon them. A third reading of the spooky paper,

which was now gingerly handled as

121

in the indoor palm garden under the protection of the rim-supported, two

hundred-foot circular atrium.

As the'shady gossip concerning Pete

There was being related a purported new poker story, though it is probable the yarn ‘was well known to General Schenck when,while Ambassador to Great Britain, he summarized the rules of the

Slidem's lady, and the rumors of quarrels

game for the beneﬁt of the English

among the trio were recalled, the uncer tainties of Pete's violent temper when

nobility a generation or so ago.

though it too was criminal, disclosed the

additional fact that there was probably a double murder.

in liquor made the most unheard of horrors possible. The responsibility weighed too heavily

The story aptly illustrates the danger ous hold with which this distinctly

selves of the state's attorney upon whom

American game grips its devotees, and ran something like this: — A good and generous citizen whose one weakness was poker, one day ﬁnally

to unload. Enquiry, however, developed

cashed in all his earthly chips, and the

that the prosecuting oﬁicer was hundreds

last balance being on the right side, unex

of miles away enjoying a vacation among the delightful and congenial associations of “feet Carlsbad Springs.

pectedly found himself in heaven. After wandering about like a lost sheep for a time, he thought he would like to see the other place and accordingly applied to St. Peter for a pass. His request was at ﬁrst peremptorily refused as being

upon the pair, and they bethought them

50 the immediate responsibility could not be shifted, and it was thought best

for the sheriff flanked with a couple of deputies, to go and look over the ground

at Florafountin and see what there was “in it," before calling the state's attor ney home for a possible wild goose chase. After all it might be a hoax.

It took but a very cursory examina tion of the locus to convince the sheriff that a horrible crime had been com mitted, the contents of the mysterious

note having been more than veriﬁed in every particular. Josephus Demos, Esq., the brilliant young state's attorney of Hamilton county, was enjoying himself at one of the numerous alleged eighth wonders

of the world — the famous rotunda hotel at West Carlsbad. He had come in contact with a bunch of Chicago alder men who were down recuperating from a strenuous campaign. The entire party were enjoying their

after dinner cigars and telling stories

contrary to all precedent, but in the end he got a pass enabling him to make

the investigating trip and return. He did not get far in the lower regions until he came across a choice collection of his old cronies engaged in his favor ite game.

After the conventional greeting he pro ceeded at once to sit in the game and asked for a stack of chips.

“Got any money?” asked Beelzebub, who was banker. "No, I haven't," replied the visitor, “but lend me some chips and I'll soon win and have plenty of money." He was politely but ﬁrmly informed

that that method did not prevail there and that he must pay in advance to get in the game. He walked off disgustedly, but soon returned with a roll of asbestos bills as big as his arm, and demanded some chips.