Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-08-18
Steered into a Runko.

" ~. o"SACy AOoo AoAS.-A1Vy lN.
Steered into a Bunko.
a New York correspondent SAYS: Dan
FARLEY is an actor who does not make
the mistake Of hiding his att%ractiveness
OF person. He enhances it with good
clothes and gentlemanly manners. He
is playing the character of an honest
man-about-town under his WI manage
ment, and with great artistic and pecu-
mary success. He is the roper-in for a
bunko game. The private detective of
the Fifth Avenue hotel showed him to
me, and said that if 1 was incredulous
as to his employment 1 could satisfymy-
self cntertainingly and without much
trouble.
Don't f1atter yourself" said he,
.'that your city cut will prevent him
from operating upon you if you throw
yourself in his way. His easiest victims
are those who ought to know better,
and who think they do. Try him-and,
L say, you'd better report to ma as soon
as he gets through with you ju6t what
you've DONE"
i did put myself in the way of Dan
Faley, making him believe that 1 was u
Fstranger from Chicago. The proceed
inggs were not essentially different from
what is usual in confidence swindling.
He toll me that he had drawn a prize
in a lottery, and was going to get it.
Did / care to take a walk and see him
ask for the money? We sauntered up
Broadway and through T~wenty-sixth
street to No. 1872. This is a block which
is in that state of social chaos which
lies between the expulsion of indecency
and the acquisition Of presentable re-
s%pectabilits. That is to say, the evil
resorts with which it was until lately
filled have been closed, through the ac-
ton Of a majority of the property
owners, and as yet neither regular
business nor well-to-do residents have
been introduced. The tenants, there
fore, are atlpresent poor people, and to
a considerable extent negroes. 1t was
in such an improbable neighborhood
that we found the office of Dams lot;
terry. It W BIS a room that had BEEN
rather clurtsily made to look something
like a plact of business.
''The police are so down on lotteries
just now,'1 alphabetically explained,
or SEEING me scrutinize the make
shift furniture, ''that 1 suppose these,
folks have 10 move too often to fit up
their places Handsomely"
A much4yhiskered man, with colOredi
glasses on to disguise his countenance,
sat behinda desk. He did very well in.
deed at aipretense of irritation when
Dan laid down the ticket calling for 500,
but counted out the money without dis
pute. Al for Dan, he was elated. To
tell the truth, he remarked, he hadn't
more than half expected to be paid at
all. Then a sweat-board was introduced,
in the usual manner, and Dan lost q
few dollars on it. He asked me to play,
for HIM with his money, and at first I,
won, bit afterward lost. At length, L
was told that 1 was on my own account
indebted to the board to the extent of
$500.
II haven't the money with me-" I
said.
Then give me a check" was the fell
lows suggestion. 81 suppose you have
a bank account. Or, won't that be con-
venient?"
1t occurred to me that to sign acheck
would cost me nothing, since / could go
Immediately to the bank and stop pay
ment So l readily agreed to meet my
loss in that way, A blank check was
produced and / filled it out. The gam
bier scrutinized it, remarked p~arenthet-
ically that my payment could be en-
forced whether l had an account at that
particular bank OF not, and then dried
the ink with a newspaper, in lieu of a
regular blotter. Dan had been quiet
for a while. Now he suddenly broke
out:
s'This is a friend of mine," he ex-
claimed, savagely, s'and I won't see
him swindled. He shan't let you have
his check for a cert" ] wondered what
this meant, and was absolutely dunn
founded when Dan grabbed the check,
tore it into bits, and threw them on the
floor.
Come" and he seizedm me by the arm,
.'let's get out of this den."
There was an excited protest by the
other chap, but we went out unhindered,
and l parted with Dan on the corner,
receiving his congratulations on having
escaped unscathed. On turning to the
hotel l gave to the detective the promised
account of what had happened, ex-
planning that l had intended to stop pay
ment on the check, but that no such
%precaution was now necessary.
.'Don't you lose q minute in going to
the bank" he said, cor they'll get there
with the check before you. It was de-
stroyed? Not a bit of it. A newspaper
lay on the desk-didn't it?-and he put
the check between the folds, face down
ward, as if to blot it. Then the stool
pigion snatched ont, not the check itself,
but q blank n that had been previous
ly placed there. This dummy was what
Dan tore up, and the real check was left
safe and sound. That's the way they
prevent their victims from stopping
payments"
A Ton of Brook Trout.
Yesterday morning about ten o'clock
- Al H. 20, all