Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1891-10-10
HAD TO G0AND HE WENT
HE RODE TO DENVER ON WoMAN'S
TICKET AND STRUCK LUCK.

There is today in Kansas City man Of
middle age who was formerly a ticket
broker In the halcyon days Of that fra
ternity.
One day In looking over his mail he re-
ceived query as to what ticket from
Kansas City to Denver was worth, good
for fifteen days. He replied that such a
ticket was worth fifteen dollars, and In two
days he received it by mail Casually
glancing at it with his customary methodi-
cal business habits, he Immediately sent
hfteen dollars To the seller. In rounding
mp the days business however, and taking
account Of stock he discovered that his
Denver ticket was issued to q woman
Mrs. Alice Blackwood.
Now here was go. Women never called
&C his Office to buy tickets, and it was al
most impossible to find woman who
would consent to use scalper's ticket.
On the day on which the ticket expired
lean, lank, double jointed, unsophisti-
Gated young man entered his Office and
said Friend. have you got anything to
Denver"
YES, I've got ticket to Denver, stran,
ger, but you can't use it; it's for woman"
The visitor calmly replied; Friend, can
use anything. Pm bound to go to Denver,
4
this very night" The ticket broker re-
quested the stranger to write the name,
Alice Blackwood, to correspond with tho
name upon the ticket, and was Mortified to
see the man turn his head to one side and
stick out his tongue in an effort to write
the name, and, at the end of two minutes
hand him the paper with the name written
thereon. The characters as they appeared
to the scalper, would have sufiiced to OBJ
tain bundle from any Chinese laundry,
and the hope Of getting fifteen dollars for
the Denver ticket sank out of sight.
Stranger" said be, you won't do; you
can never use that ticket"
Friend, ! can use anything; | must go
to Denver" persisted the traveller
Now, the scalper had "A young man in his
ot1ice who was an expert penman, and en-
couraged by the mans candor and the hope
of saving that fifteen dollars, he put him
to work, and In a few minutes the name on
the ticket WINS changed to read from Mrs
Alice Blackwuod" to "Mr. Alice Black
wood"
The ticket had TO be countersigned and
stamped at the general office at the depot
before it could be used, and this had to be
done discTeetiy Or detection would follow
The expert penInan wrote the name Alice
Blackwood on the back of the ticket to
correspond with the name on the face
thereof, and the stranger was told to 90 to
the depot, watch the arrival of an eastern
train, and, when the crowd should gather
about the ticket office, to have the ticket |
stamped, to crowd in, grab pen, ask for IL |
blotter and pretend to write, and then get |
In fuss with somebody by pretending |
that they had tramped on his toes At the |
same time he was instructed to demand |
that his ticket be stamped. He was told |
he must get up some kind of excitement to |
attract the attention of the ticket agent |
from too close scrutiny of the changed |
ticket.
He listened attentively, and simply say |
ing; "Friend, can do anything, for I've |
got TO get to Denver" took the ticket and |
departed for the depot. Little hope had
the scalper that the ticket as changed
would pass muster, yet he slipped across
the street and had half dozen business
cards written, reading, "Alico Blackwood,
attorney at law" In the course of two
hours the man returned from the depot,
having successfully obtained the general
Office stamp on the back of the ticket,
greatly to the surprise of the broker.
The traveller was then given the business
cards and advised to be on his dignity, and
II the conductor offered to put him off the
train to take two or three of the passen-
gers names, hand the conductor one of the
cards with the remark, you will hear
from me later, SIR" and to make the con
ductor force him off the cars. "Do this"
said the scalper "and you may perhaps get
to Denver on that ticket, but | would not
give you five cents for your chance The
Is that you will be put off the
train before 1t gets five miles, Now you
can gol won't charge you a cent for the
ticket, but II you get to Denver all right
want you to send Inc fifteen dollars"
"Friend. all right; you have done me
big favor. can go anywhere" is all the
stranger said, as he pocketed his business
cards and walked away. The broker, in
his good nature, felt sorry for the man.
He had no idea that he would get beyond
the shadow of the depot on the changed
ticket, and almost regretted that he had
given 1t to him. Months passed, No
news came from the ticket, and the Incl
dent had almost slipped from the scalper's
mind, when one day he received letter
containing crisp ten dollar bill, which
read as follows;
Tin CUP. Colo,
"TRIEND-Y You did me big favor, and
got to Denver o. X. on that ticket.
Things are picking up with me, and send
you ten dollars on account.
JOHN SMITH"
Several months again rolled round, when
another letter came to the broker AS fol-
lows;
TIN Cur, Colo.
FRIEND-Things are coming my way,
and send you ten dollars for balance on
that Denver ticket; the extra five dollars is
for your trouble and for interest.
John SMITH,
Attorney at Law. Collections n speciality"
To say that the scalper was surprised by
the second letter, in finding out that his
stranger and gaunt friend had hung out
his shingle, and was attorney at law at
Tin Cup, Colo, but family expressed his
Time rolled on, and again the incident Of
the Denver ticket had escaped the scalpers
mind, when one day one of the most prom
inent business men in Kansas City visited
his office and wanted ticket for Tin Cup,
Colo. He and the scalper were old acquaint-
auce=, and the former bewailed his fate In
h&Ving to make the trip. He said that he
had large property interests at Tin Cup,
and that he was having great trouble with
his agent, who failed to collect, remit, or
with him; that he was greatly
pressed by business affairs at home, and
did not have the time to make the trip to
Colorado, and expressed a desire to have
some good man to look out for his interests
there.
AT this juncture the scalper happened to
think of John Smith, attorney ut law;
collections n specially" and told his visitor
the story OF the Mrs Alice Blackwood
ticket Correspondence was opened be-