The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1889-08-30
i catch" WATCH.
How a Clever Swfndier Usedto Ensnare
the UnMary Betting Man.

One trick. though q small one, that
I used to play years ago on the unsus-
porting has caused me many pangs OF
conscience while in u %rcpentant mood,
says George Denol, 4 reformed gam
bier, in the St. Louis G{05e-D Democrat.
1t Was quite simple. l had u catch"
watch; and it caught 'em, too. The
Ease was made of pure gold, tie metal
actually being hammered into the
proper shape. Tie works were not
worth 10 cents; they were as cheap as
could he fouGd. But the case was very
fine. and l had to carry the watch in a
chamois-skin pocket to prevent the
soft gold from wearing away. in those
days-this was bcfo' the wah-brass
candlesticks were in common use. 1
would take the tallow dripping that
ran down on the outside of Il brass can
dlestick and rub it on the case of the
''catch'' watch. This gave the case
the appearance and smell of brass. As
l dressed generally in the style, when
a gentleman saw me pull out that
watch-and 1 always managed to pull
it out in n way to attract attention
he would give me the laugh, and say:
''Nell, l am surprised to see a man Of
your appearance carving an old brass
watch like that" ''l'll bet you 500
to $40 that my watch has a finer case
than yours, sir" ] would probably re-
ply. 1.-The man would examine my
watch. and when he opened it and saw
the cheap works, he was then more
than cver confirmed in the belief that
it was a snide watch, aud that 1 vas
Just giving him II bluff. 'lll bet vou.h
he would say, land Well leave the de-
cision to n jeweler.h We would repair
to Il jeweler, and after the test was
made, of curse my watch was found
to have a case made of pure goid-2l
earats line-something not known as
To any watch made for common use.
No watch eases are made of pure gold.
While | rakcd in the poor fellows $40
that he had put up, | then gave him
the laugh ard left him to ponder over
the manne he had been taken in rs q
sucker" In all my travels l never
found but one man who got even with
me on this trick, and he vas a st.
Louis jewelers. clerk in those times,
but is now running a handsome store
here of his own. | had made a bet
with Il ma that my watch had a finer
case than his, and we stepped into a
St. Louis jewelers. establishment to
have the two watches tested. One of
the young clerks, who is now in
business for himself. looked at the
watches and said: I'm bet you $40
that the other gentlcman's watch ease
is finer than yours, Devol.' See
here, young man, | would advise You
not to bct,' ! replied, for this gentle
man and myself have just stepped in
to settle a little dispute as to the num-
Der of carats of gold in the watch cases.
and it is an AFFAIR of our own" But
the young clerk thought he had q SURE
thing, ard WIS anxious to bet, and i
took him up. He went upstairs with
the watches to test them, and soon
learned that my watch was n 'catch,'
and that | had won my friends money
and also his $40 bet. The young clerk
came down with a broad smile on his
face, and said my watch case was the
finer of the two, but that he guessed
he would just charge me $40 for max
ing the test. That clerk WAS The only
man who ever got wen with me on
that trick, and he was simply even
that was all.