St. Paul daily globe., 1892-08-07
A DEAD SURE THING.
Row Money Put ON Gov. Bowie
Grew a Hundred Z old.

| L iIO viz OittiiS, NiS w NlutIOh, w no
is lust now talking to the waiter. is q
Harvard student. Any ore can tell
that at glance. He has Harvard writ
ten all over him. He is in New York 10
have good time. You would have
known that if you had been with him
| the last few days. He is also stranger
i'll New York, or he would not be with
| the man who is sitting opposite to him,
who Is Frank Freeman, and who makes
his living by hanging around the race
| track. OF in any other way in which he
can make a dishonest dollar, or an hon
est one for that matter, although he has
not made an honest one for many day.
How Johnnie Hart had picked up
Freeman | don't know, but Freeman
had been showing him around for the
past few days, and had discerned that
the man from Harvard had lots of
money, great love of horse races, and
very little prudence.
They had almost finished their break
fast at Delmonico's, when rather loud
looking person came up to Freeman,
and in low tone, apparently not in
| tended to be heard bv any one but Free
niau. but of which Hart heard every
word, said: "Fve got every one OF the
| jocks fixed. No one is Oh 10 it, and
there'll be hundred to one against
him. 1t can't 90 wrong. It's going to
cost about $1,000, but we'll bust every
bookmaker OH the track" "Some other
time, whispered Freeman. Then aloud !:
Sit down Mac. Mr.. Hart, let me IN
! troduce you to my friend, Mir. McKar
You see Mac Is race horse man, and
we've got sure thing for tomorrow"
OF course Johnnie Hart wanted 10
! know what tie sure thing was. lie was
| Informed between them that the sure
thing was certain horse" who had
not won race for long time, and
against whom there were always very
large odds. All OF the jockeys had been
bribed to ''pull' their horses, and the
certain old cripple was to come III at
the finish and win.
After a great deal of persuasion on
Johnnie's part, and after the payment
of 500 to back the sure thing and 10
! show good faith, he was told in Il myS-
! teriOuS whisper that Gov. Bowie was
the horse who would win the fourth
race the next day.
The odds would probably be $50 or 200
to l, and Freeman was TO get half the
winnings when the race was over. You
meet Us at the north side OF the betting
stand tomorrow just before the fourth
race. Well be busy in the stables until
then" said Freeman as he and his friend
went away.
When they had gone poor Johnnie
began to realize what a fool he had
been. He had only S15J left to see him
through the next quarter, and if he
should lose what would he do. But
then, it was sure thing.
Had Hart seen this new friend Free
| man hand over $3.50 in United States
greenbacks to McKar and have heard
the two worthless discussing the QueS-
hat, hot IL ii
! bloke" would bite for more, he would
have hal very serious doubts about the
sure thing.
The first three races had been terri
| bic bore. and Hart had never enjoyed
races SO little. As he stood at the north
| side Of the betting ling, just away from
the stands, he was very nervous. For
some reason Or other he had never
doubted Freemans honesty, because,
you see, he did not know-Freeman. He
| looked up at one of the many black
boards and saw the following:
| Woodward 1-2iDoc Wick - 10-1
| Swanena........ Al Redman. ..... 81
Red Deer. 81 -1IVulcan. n.... 2-I
| Gov. Bowie . 1OO-1I Mona 6-l
What would he do if he losto ''Well,
| might just as well die for sheep as a
lamb" he said to himself. and in a sud-
den tit of desperation he went up to the
nearest bOokmaker to put Sl00 more on
Gov. Bowie. Fifty is all III take"
said the bookmaker. "All right, iifty."
said Hart, as he handed up the money
and received in return a piece of card
board upon which Was written in blue
pencil. 5.000-50 Gov Bowie. Then he
went back to wait. Soon Freeman and
| McKar appeared with look of distress
OIL their faces. The jock on
Woodward has gone back on us,
Fm afraid" said Freeman. land
I've put every cent you gave me and
every cent | own in the world Oh the
Governor. But it MAY come right yet"
! Poor Johnnie remembered then what he
had so often heard about ''suTe things"
always going wrong, and felt very sad
and foolish as they all three went out
to look at the race.
The horses were all drawn UP in
front the starter. All of a sudden away
they went. No, it was a false start.
They tried again with the same result.
1t seemed n year to Johnnie. After a
great many false starts the flag fell, and
every one cried, They're off," Gov
ernor Bowie was in the lead. At the
quarter pole Governor Bowie was three
lengths in the lead. At the half-mile pole
Governor Bowie was fifteen lengths in
the lead. Johnnie heard an old grey
bearded sport standing next to him say ::
"WOodWard III catch him sure; Bowie
can't hold out for mile" At the three
quarter pole Governor Bowie was
twenty lengths in tie lead. Strange to
say, Freeman and Mckur began to be a
little nervous. They came into the
stretch. Governor Bowie still had a big
lead, but his jockey was putting on the
whip with all his might, and at every
! Cfriia Mood xya ,I orainn6 nl holc
length. They are right near the wire.
Governor Bowie is two lengths ahead of
Woodward, all the others beaten, aud
the jockeys on both horses are
cutting them with whip and spur.
1t appears to Johnnie that Gov
ernor Bowie is standing still, Woodward
is catching him so fast. They have
reached the wire, Governor Bowie al
most dead, but winner by nose.
Johnnie takes off his hat, waves it in
the air, jumps up and down like a
be turns to speak to his two friends.
They are both gone. He looks high
and low for them, but cannot find them.
Then be goes to the bookmaker with
whom he placed his fifty-doilar bet. and
exchanges his tickets for S5,050. He
looked for Ere eman all day at the track.
He looked for him for several days
| ABOUT New Ork, Dut never found him.
So he went back to Cambridge, and he
doesn't to this day know what to make
Of the whole thing.
The evening after Gov. Bowie, a rank
outsider Gas. the newspapers put it,, won
race, Freeman and McKar sat at a
table in little room at ''Petes," on the
Bowery. They were both much the
worse for whisky, and both looked dis
gusted. You see, Mac, yon can't tell
nothing about horse racing" Freeman
was saying, II would bet my bottom
dollar against your chances of heaven
that that old cripple couldn't beat moth
ing. and Just when we didn't want him
TO, the old cow walks in and spoils a
good thing for US. That Harvard sucker
never caught on. and we could a. got
500 more to bet On sure thing from him
before he tumbled. My!if we'd ont
put tenner on Bowie we would Il