CARD-SHARPERS ON ATLANTIC LINERS.

Gisborne Times, Volume VIII, Issue 699, 19 December 1902, Page 2

CARD-SHARPERS ON ATLANTIC LINERS.

A GANG EXPOSED. Professional card sharpers, whose presence it is exceedingly difficult to detect, and whom to accuse is frequently a most awkward and delicate matter, are regular passengers by almost every big liner leaving British and Continental ports during the tourist- season. Largo sums ui money are often won and Just in tile brief six days between Liverpool and New York. On a voyage of a popular Atlantic liner, from Liverpool to New York, last monte, says tno London Daily Express, a very extraordinary attempt at swindling was expused, thus preventing lour protessional card sharpers lrom winning, by luul play, a sum ol nearly F2oUO.

y It came abuut in tnis way, play began y on the very evening the ship lull Churo bourg, and for lour days, with but brief , intervals lor eating and sleeping, tile i party, among winch were tuo lour pro--3 fesaional sharpers, sat steadily at the laijlo, 3 The table occupied by tiic-se players » moat of the time was surrounded by lrom r a dozen to fifty interested spectators. It ■ was in a corner of the smoking room 3 under a window looking out on the port 3 quarter, r Among the players was an ex-gambler i from a South Western State, whose fame i was not sufficient to identify him with this i list of passengers. He said nothing, but i the young and innocent player interested ! him. For two days the youth won ■ steadily. i On the fourth day out, with twenty spectators, including the ex-gambler, standing about the table, the game reached its climax. The youth was nervous and erratic in his play. Three of the players were drinking beer from mugs, which, lo keep them out of the- way, they placed on the little shelves under lue tabic. Suddenly the ex-gambler laid his hand emphatically on the tabic- and said : “■ Right here the game ends." There was a sensation. The man with his back to the window and three ethers of the party looked at the speaker arid turned pale. The youth and the two remaining players expressed their indignation. The ex-gambler looked from one of the quartette of sharpers—unsuspected till now —to another, and said: '■ If any one of you men is seen playing on this ship during the rest of this voyage, or if any of us here see you playing on

any ship we are on, you will immediately Ibe arrested. Now, keep your hands off that money till this young man takes | what he has put in.” The cowed aspect of the swindlers caused all the spectators to push forward threateningly. Without a word, they took what money the young player left on the table and left the room.

! To the other spectators, the ex gamblerexplained that he had observed untxiis takable signs that the four culprits were in collusion. Through motives of ex-pro-fessicna! pride, perhaps, be mentioned to only one person, later, that while he was out of the room he had glanced through the window and seen one of the quartetteadd a fourth king to his hand while ostensibly reaching for his mug of beer.