I afterward understood that he had
acquired this habit while attending a dental college in St. Louis, where
he had become quite an expert in the handling of cards, and was well
posted in the tricks so frequently resorted to by gamblers to fleece
their unsuspecting victims. When he returned from college and
established his business in his native town, he became the leader of a
set of fast young men, and his office was the nightly resort of his
associates, where they played and gambled frequently, until the morning
hours drove them to their homes.
"As I have said, I met Johnson at this time, and on my succeeding visit
I was introduced by him to Eugene Pearson, the assistant cashier of the
bank. That evening we spent together at Johnson's office in drinking and
card-playing. Johnson stated that there was an excellent opportunity to
make money offered, if we were disposed to accept it. I asked him what
it was, and he stated that there were quite a number of well-to-do
merchants in the town who were in the habit of meeting in a room which
they had furnished for the purpose, and where they played cards for
small amounts and for amusement.
"Johnson stated that we could readily make their acquaintance, and once
introduced into their games, it would be an easy matter to induce them
to play heavily, and then, from his knowledge of gamblers' tricks, we
could win their money in spite of them.
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