That Hughie Lafitte did not live anywhere except on a Mississippi riverboat was not precisely because he had no interest in going ashore. Exactly what trouble Hughie had been in during the dark nights of prohibition was best not spoken. Pardons for offenses that occurred in that era were difficult to obtain; leaving the vicinity of 3 miles from shore was generally not a good thing for Hughie to do. It was not that he cheated at cards. There was no need for Hughie to cheat; he was that good. Things had happened during prohibition were not in Hughie's opinion, his fault. Nevertheless, his home was currently on The River.

It was, therefore, miraculous that a letter from his grandson, Pete Lafitte, reached him in March of 1945. Hughie was not even sure who, in the dark early morning hours, slipped the slim envelope addressed to Pete's Father (a doctor many miles away on the Vermont Canadian border) under his cabin door. Acadian routes that existed since the 18th century still existed. Hughie himself had used them to visit his son and grandson during the perilous era of prohibition.

"Grand-Pere", the letter began, "I am writing to tell you that the anointed with Holy Water deck of cards which you gave me long ago. is with me and although the fighting has been intense, I am still alive. I have stories to tell you when I come home. But for now, I will tell you how with those cards and the skills which you taught me, I won a beautiful Valentine present for my sweetheart.”