Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-01-16
BET ON SURE THING"
But There Was a sharper on Rand and the
''Sure Thing Turned Up a Six.

Several sporting men were standing
in front of the bar of a popular resort
at the South End a few evenings ACC.
They were engaged in the seductive
pastime of shaking for the drinks, and
a dozen or more rounds had been dis
posed of when one of the men, evident
ly a stranger to the others, proposed to
show them a little trick. He was to all
appearances about h~alf-seas over, and
the others, thinking him too drunk to do
any trick properly, urged him to per-
form it, thinking that they would have
a good laugh and another round of
drinks at his expense.
As the result proved, however, the
stranger was not so full as he seemed,
and the laugh, instead of turning upon
himself, was upon one of the other
men, who paid rather dearly for his
little fun.
The stranger asked the bartender for
a newspaper, aud this being given him
he rolled it up in a clumsy manner in
the shape of a cone. He then took a
single dice from the box from which
they had been shaking, and setting it
on the bar with the ace up he placed
the cone over it, and turning to the
other gentlemen he said: "You all
saw that there was an ace on top when
| put the cone down, did you notP"
and being answered with an affirma-
tive nod he continued: Now, | will
bet you a round of drinks for the party
that | can push a straw down through
the top of the cone and turn up a six"
No one seemed ready to take him up,
but Notwithstanding this he went off
down to the end of the bar-room where
a broom was standing and pulled out a
straw. While he was gone n of the
men standing around the cone, quickly
reached forward and lifting it up took
the dice from under it and placed it in
his pocket at the same time setting the
cone down in exactly the same place it
had been before.
He had just done this when the
drunken man came back with his straw,
and pulling up one of his sleeves pre-
pared to do his little trick. Every one
in the party was now willing to bet him
the drinks that he could not do it.
''Well, - he said, with a drunken leer,
.'Yis is gettin' interestin.' S'pose we
make it an objec'P I'll bet any man in
tn party a s. note that l can run this
straw down through the top of the one
and turn up a six"
There was no dice under the cone of
course, and one man who has some
what of a reputation of being a ''sure
thing" better spoke up and said:
make the bet so and I'll 90 you"
"All right" returned the supposed
inebriate after a moments deliberation,
and the money vas put up in the hands
of the man who had removed the dice.
Then the man with the straw pushed it
down through the top of the cone, and
after poking about with it a moment
he Strengthened up and asked the man
who had bet with him to lift up the
cone.
This was done; when, behold! there
on the bar was a dice with a six on top;
and in fact there was a six on every
side of the dice.
''Sold, by ~thunder!' shouted the man
who had lost, angrilv, and he was
about to make a kick for his money, but
was guyed out of it by his friends, and,
besides, it was the trickster's copper
who had removed the dice and held the
stakes, so it is doubtful if he could have
got his money anyway.
1t seems that the man with the straw
had a ringer dice, which he had fixed
in the top of the cone when he rolled
the paper up.
The victim, besides losing his money,
was forced to buy several rounds of
drinks to secure the pledge of secrecy,
but it leaked out, and here it is.-Bost0n
Globe.