The Unturned Trump by H.D. Umbstaetter
The ferry-boat "Rappahannock" left Brooklyn for New York in the winter of 1873, but ice and an unprecedented fog on the East River threw her off course, and she wandered for three hours as a tramp with no port. Her passengers reacted in different ways. A Wall Street speculator raged over a possible loss of fifty thousand dollars, and a frightened mother begged to be set ashore. When the pilot finally sighted the New York landing, a sister boat already occupied it, and he backed out and was lost again. A group of calmer men in the cabin looked for a way to pass the time and proposed a game of cards. A worn, label-covered traveling-bag belonged to a globe-trotter among them, and from it he took a euchre deck. They used a camp-stool as a table and cut for deal, and the stranger won it. As he was about to turn the trump, a woman fainted from fright. He explained that she had seen her own frightened face in a mirror, and he mentioned a thrilling experience an American traveler once had in Syria. His companions urged him to tell it before the game began. The stranger explained that Bedouin robbers spare an infidel traveler accompanied by one of the faithful, but treat him as prey once he is separated from his guard. They may hold him for ransom and send his fingers to his friends. He then described an American traveling in Syria with a party that camped by a stream under the Tubal chain of mountains. The American stayed behind in charge of two tents while his companions went off on a three-day trip. He fell asleep over his water pipe and woke in agony. Three Bedouins stood over him, and one had cut off the first three fingers of his left hand. Two of them left to demand ransom, which the American knew his friends could not pay. The third stayed to guard him. The tent had been stripped of everything except a grimy silk coat, which hung on the partition between the two tents and hid a shaving mirror. The American called to an imagined protector in the next tent. As he did so, he drew the coat away from the mirror in front of the guard. The sheik did not recognize his own reflection and collapsed in terror. The American seized his arms and took control. The storyteller then reached again for the trump. The listeners gasped, because the first three fingers of his left hand were missing. Before he could turn the card, the boat lurched into her New York slip, and the trump was never turned.
By H.D. Umbstaetter · First published 1895 · Genre: Humor, Dark comedy, Adventure fiction · 1,888 words
First lines
The ferry-boat, "Rappahannock," had an experience in the winter of 1873 that will never be forgotten by any of her passengers.
During one of her regular trips between New York and Brooklyn this boat suddenly quitted her respectable, though somewhat monotonous, career, and became a common tramp, without port or destination.
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Genres
- Humor — The story turns on a comic reversal: a card game is interrupted by a tale whose grim episode ends in a deadpan punchline when the dealer's three missing fingers are revealed as he reaches for the trump card.
- Dark comedy — The violence of severed fingers, ransom demands and torture is treated with a light, ironic tone, and the ferry passengers' panic is mocked, so the grim material serves the joke.
- Adventure fiction — The Sinai and Syria desert journey, the detour to archaeological treasures, the captivity by Bedouin robbers and the escape by trickery follow the conventions of the adventure narrative.
- Crime fiction — The plot centers on kidnapping, mutilation sent to friends as a ransom signal, and a captor's defeat, all driven by criminal motives and extortion.
Tags
short story · frame narrative · storytelling within a story · ferry crossing · East River · fog and ice · New York City · winter 1873 · card game · euchre · gambling · travel in Syria
What this Textopian page supports
The Unturned Trump is listed on Textopian as a short story by H.D. Umbstaetter, dated 1895 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: H.D. Umbstaetter
- Date: 1895 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Humor, Dark comedy, Adventure fiction, Crime fiction, Thriller
- Length: 1,888 words
- Structure: 1 section, 32 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Difficult (10th-12th Grade)
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- Work identity for The Unturned Trump by H.D. Umbstaetter
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