The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-02-09
A FINE DINNER FOR A LIFE.
HOW AN ARIZONA MAN MISSED A
HOLIDAY SPREAD.

Made No PrOtest-When Betrayed and
COrnered He Gets the Drop and
Carries on the Angry Avenger-A
Bad Man Dropped in a Desert.
story OF the Expose of an Arizona
Mining SvvindIe by a Daring Young
TenderfOOt.
From the San Francisco Examiner.
81 missed the dinner we had arranged,
but have never felt that 1 had a kick.
because I am here now"
The prosperous looking citizen who had
been guide. philosopher and friend to the
Pullman load of tenderfoot travellers over
the Santa Fe one October day. had set
tied down to a quiet enjoyment of cigar
when most of his charges had been driven
to bed by his stories. He was distracted
ly telling me how he had worked as a
miner back in the early sos and sent east
the reports which stopped the floating
of the bogus Baby Mine claims, cut off
the projectors of the swindle from making
million or two and saved confident in
vestors that same amount to put into a
similar scheme.
Il could get no work at my profession
engineering" he began. land so was
MES and plenty of experience by doing a
turn on a New York daily. 1 had been
out OF college a few days and was in
need or some regular work. 1 made a
Ialr MT, when one day the managing edf-
tor sent for me and asked me If / had
nerve enough to undertake to expose an
ARIZONA mining swindle. He was con-
Ylnced that the Baby Mine was not a Ie-
gitimate transaction, but was, instead.
a bunco game. of which one Stewart
well known, was to be the beneficiary In
Il accepted with eagerness. To see the
mines MINES was my ambition. felt
able able to do airy. amount of work
enough to appeal to anY Young
man ana l was ready for try at II in q
minute. According to the PLAN was to
go out TO Arizona, go to the mine. work
as common laborer and meanwhile make
such arrangements as l could to get ont
news news OF the actual condition of affairs.
II was not long after my arrival that
l pegan to get into form. 1 was able early
70 get an excuse for an occasional ride
from the camp to the railroad with dis
patches. L took them from one station to
another and used a species of code BY an
arrangement with the night editor no mat
yer where the dispatches came from they
were 10 be dated Phoenix. And so 1 was
able to black Mr. Stewards eve regularly
ana escape any notice. l kept this up reg
ularly for several weeks, hiding my traces
so wen that l was not tracked, though 1
may have been suspected.
OF course on the appearance of each of
Hood
ed Stewart with demands to hang the trail
tor in the camp, and the boys were ready
10 proceed with that task as soon as the
tip was given IS to the man. had no
my return fr- ii Cougar a little register
ing station on the Atlantic and Pacific
where l had sent my stuff Off encount-
cred the whole gang, had a narrow shave
and was compelled to lose my holiday
feed.
'It was the 3Oth and 1 had the best ex
hoo
money and offered to stand the boys some
fresh air-ughts, and go get them myself,
TOO. We had bit of game and were lay
ing out for the dinner of our lives. A
stranded Frenchman, we called him John
was attracted to our outfit by the fact that
we had some money to spend, and gave
him greater chance to show how he could
get three couI ses and dessert out of pork
and beans. and he was as full of mystery
concerning that feast as a Mexican of mes
cal before he goes crazy.
AS l say, was on my return trip, had
stopped all night at a cabin with an old
hermit who lived beside the trail and
largely on what he could pick up, and
was Just washing behind the house at a
barrel, when l heard the stopping of a
punch of horses I had noticed coming UP.
Ihey didn't attract me particularly, for
| knew they would stop. The old hermit
h aad a reputation for keeping drop of
board in the outfit and 1 began to shake
the water out of my eyes when 1 was
brought up standing by hearing a voice 1
recognized as Stewards:
- Hello! Have you seen Long Sandy
this way?'
Il had acquired that name by dint of
steady application to the task of making
a bad man of myself, and by my personal
appearance.
In a moment I knew the hand l had
drawn, Some fool telegraph editor had
failed TO change the date on my dispatch
to Phoenix, and the whole thing was out
l knew the game was table stakes, and
the fact that the old man had his gang
along showed he was about to shove his
whole stack into the center and call me-
Yes, he's just washing back of the