The Wadsworth dispatch. [volume] (Wadsworth, Nev.) 1892-1899, 1896-06-10
DANDY TRICKSTERS.
"GRAFTERS" WHO MAKE THEIR Llv-
ING At DICE THROWING.

1890
Fine Clothes. Live Like Rich Men and
Want to BE Gentiemen-An Ex-Dstect-
I've Explains Their Little Game.
Leaning against the bar in one Of the
fashionable cafes up town the other
night was n mar who until recently
was one Of the brightest detectives in
the police department. lie had covered
himself with glory en- more than one oc-
casion under the administration cf Su-
p~erlntendent Thomas +. Byrues, but
when the shake up in the department
came and he was obliged to go he did
80 without the least feeling Ct regret.
He did not lock like a detective as he
stood idly putting at his cigar. He ap-
peared like u man of the world who
had just left a theater or dinner party.
Not until he was greeted by a Press re-
porter did he arouse from a reverie he
seemed to be in.
I'm every city on the face of the
earth" said the ex-sleuth, ''that has
any pretensions to being cosmopolitan
there is to be found II certain class Of
men who live by their wits, and in liv-
ing by their wits they do it in a manner
that does net place them within the
reach Of the law, although their meth
DDS are far from being honorable. They
are IL nasty, vicious class of men, beside
whom a highway robber or a petty
sneak thief is the enbodiment Of all
that is goad and decent. Right here in
New York that peculiar class of men
flourish as they do i'll no other city in
the world, and they 60 on unhindered
from II years end to another. Most
of them are imbned with n desire to be-
come rich and be gentlemen. That may
strike you as being peculiar, but it is
nevertheless n fact. These men are
known to the polite rs grafters, and
they give u good deal mere trouble to
the authorities than ten times as many
hardened criminals.
rSee that well dressed, nice looking
fellow who is sitting over there IN an
attitude of studied carelcssness, eying
the elderly man standing at the cigar
lighter? That fellow is a CRATER. He
dresses like, looks like and talks and
acts like u gentleman, and yet it seems
to me not more than ten years ago that
he was u SIS clerk in 10 real estate Office.
His people are very poor and never were
able ia provide him with any Of the
luxuries in which he INDUCES himself
nowadays. Yet he can now go into a fash
ionable restaurant and order n splendid
meal from n bill Of fare that is printed
in French. He is no well up in litera-
ture and avoids the subject very cleverly
if it is introduced. Still he is u hard
student, devotes himself to "A few select
ed books for several hours n day and in
other ways tries to improve his mind
and his manners"
But how does he get his money!"
He shakes dice. He is one of the
cleverest dice shakers in this country.
In fact, l don't believe he has an equal.
The plan he is going to follow now is
this, provided he succeeds in making
the acquaintance Of the elderly man.
They will enter upon a general CONVEX
sation, in which he holds his own. They
have several drinks. Drinking becomes
monotonous, and they drift out in the
street together. Does he tell the old man
that he is a stranger i'll New York? Not
at all. He says he has been here all his
life. He had AN engagement to meet
ome friends at the hotel, but they dis
appointed him. He comes to another
fashionable cufe and asks the old man to
have u drink. He drinks whisky, but
the drinks are usually small. Perhaps if
he gets too many he will lose one on the
floor. AS they 50 from place to an
other the places Will detCriorate, and
finally, the cid man having had II SUI
ticient number Of drinks to make him
WOODY, the last place will be one III
which Mr.. CRATER has u dice box plant
ed"
What ito You mean by planted?'
by that l mean that the barSeeper
is a friend O. the CRATER and keeps be-
hind the bar special dice and a special
dice box 10 be used on special occasions.
This is Il " the special occasions. p.