The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-02-13

publicity 10 my disgrace than Sir Rnlp
aud tho agent had done. SO ! bet gro !
$45 on Lynch. A gentleman Of unimpeacl
able honor hold the stakes. had Baxter
personal testimony for this.
When I got back to tho ofice, the agen
horse head pin were thoic. The nppeArNnc
Of my left eve naturally led up TO the sub
joct Of pugilism. ] told them that Bnxte
had given me tho eye, and also 4 atraiRh
tip on Lynch. The horsey young maj
STho fellow o. bet with was a friend d
Baxter's," said be, ''and they'll divide youI
money between them. They know that Mo
Sweeney will win. It's all fixed up in nd
vance"
'I'm going TO the stakeholder and de.
mand my money back" said ].
You Won't set j." rsi",nsd the T Ss.u,s
the only way to get even"
lie WIS no kind as to supplement this adj
vice by telling mo where ! could lind a man
who waa foolish enough to bet on lynch
! lost no time in hunting him up: BY TIM
time ! had begun to realize that l couldn't
afford to lose money on bets. l was q poor
man. and it was IL duty which ] owed to my
family 20 win every time. SO ! bet $40 or
McSwceney.
A few days later met the sporting edi-
tor Of one Of the Leading dailies. He is a
personal friend who would not deceive me.
He had positive inside information that
me in such'a lucid manner that q largo
quantity Of my hair turned gray for fear
that | shouldn't be able TO retrieve my mis-
take by betting a bet down on Lynch. !
besought him to put up go for me n ne
could lind % takcr. and no promised to DO
80, but he warned raa that lie might have
to give odds. N.
The next morning had n long talk will
Sir Ralph the Rover. That boy appeared to
know more about fighting than the old
hands al the business. He showed me in
ten minutes how utterly rreposterous it
was to suppose that Lynch could win the
fight. When ] left the office l looked up a
man who. / was aware, had been tipped by
the sporting editor, and / bet $50 with him
on insolvency.
But that evening l happened to meet an
old and reliable sport, a man Tor whose
Judgment l had the highest respect. In a
few well chosen WORDS he convinced noe
that McSweeney was Lynch's natural food;
that the Kid had no more show than Lo,
the poor Indian, ana that anybody VINO bet
on the Kid YVES simply taking bread out OF
the mouth OF his family. l borrowed $50
and bet it or Lynch. ~.
1t had been arranged that the fight
should take place in q barn in q remote
corner OF Staten Island. This is a news
paper euphenism for a back room IN q
house conveniently located in jersey City.
II WAS necessary to keep the authorities Ill
ignorance, so one OF the seconds went to
the policeman on the beat and told him not
be loafing around the doc Of the hOus on
that particular night because his presence
might be offensive to the boys.
We assembled in the room about IL
O'Clock. ] had several other changes OF
opinion by this time, and my memoranda
OF bets wera q little mixed up. l handed
them over to the sporting editor, ana asked
him what he thought Of them. he figured
oyer it a minute. and then hs said: You've
been giving odds both ways. II McSweeney
wins you lose :t45 and if Lynch wins you
lose $S5. l gdviss you to holler for Nc
Sweeney"
Tie men went into the ring and began to
pound each other. Everytime the Kid hit
yelled foul. When Lynch hit the Kid the
other half yelled foul. l didn't want to
show partiality 80 1 yelled foul all the time.
In the fifth round both men in the ring
were groggy. SO was the breath OF all the
men outside tho ring. A sport standing
near me whispered in my ear that Nc
Sweeney was getting the worst of it. Then
lie escaped from the Ioom and whispered
the same thing in the ear of Il detachment
of police, who were waiting III q nelGhbor-
ing saloon. They had all put up their
money on McSweeney. ana they lost no
Tins III faluluR the mouse.
The sports heard the police coming, and
jumped ont of the back window. 1 jumped
out with them. A policeman reached out
of the window and could just touch the tops
Of our heads as we stood III the area whine
tho advance guard WAS kicking the gate
dowr. ! was the only man who didn't wear
his hair short. never reai,Zed before why
sports had themselves barbered that way.
he majesty OF the law grasoed my long
flowing LOCKS, and hauled me in through
the window like a pie4e OF rope.
l paid u considerable fine. l thought il
was more convenient to pay it othe police
man who arr sted me than to wait for the
fornalities OF the court. Otherwise my
name might have got into tho papers.
read III the sporting EDITORS account OF
the tight next morning that all bets were
of. 1 WIS deeply thankful. II was the
only way for mo to win. Since that time /
have devoted myself to the task of hunting
up Stockholders. They appear to be ''off''
also. 1 have not found any of them.
! have no more sporting blood; no, Sir.
not SO much as n red %corpuscie.
HowARD FIELDING.
Copyright.
Ststuary and vases at considerably less than
cost at The Zee Hive.