The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1899-11-08
Hagerstown Mail.

Hagerstown Mail.
Two sharpers worked the flim-fam
game on Cornelius Virtz, a we'll
known farmer Of Sandy Hook district
to the tune Of $3.50 and skipped leav-
ing their victim with two empty
satchels and a poorer yet wiser man.
Mr.. Virtz did not know he had been
duped until too late, DIS is usually the
case and the sharpers were out Of
reach.
The other day while Mr.. Virtz was
on the road going from Weyerton to
Sandy Hook he met man driving
along. The stranger stopped TO in
qulre of Mr.. Virtz if he knew Of a
farm in the neighborhood for sale or
if he would sell his farm. He replied
in the negative, but stated that the
Elgin farm, nearby, was for sale.
The stranger was very affable and
asked Mr.. Virtz to drive him to the
Elgin place. He agreed and they
started off.
While driving along they met a man
driving in the opposite direction.
This was the second act. Stranger
No. 2 pulled up, as he had tale Of
woe to tell. He explained that he
was looking for lost sister, who was
thought to be in the vicinity, and
that she was one of the heirs to
large estate, which could not be ad-
justed until she was found. This
story afforded an opening for con-
versation in which the strangers en-
gagged Mr.. Virtz as an earnest listen
er. At this junction No. 2 proposed
to stranger No. ! that they play
little1game. Stranger No. | mani
tested great Indignation at the pro-
posal, but after some wheedling on
the part of stranger No. 2 the other
consented and the ball opened. They
played for small stakes and gradually
raised them until stranger No. raked
| in a s.. 900 note. Mr.. Virtz eagerly
watched the game and when he was
invited to join in he did so without
much persuasion.
The three handed deal proceeded
for a while and Mr. Virtz could not
believe his eyes that he had won
a 81 200 note, but he had, just like
his friend. The fact that these notes
were counterfeit was not discussed
until later.
The fever of winning such large
stakes had seized Mr.. Virtz and when
stranger No. 2 complained that he
had lost so heavily and would like to
have a 90 at the game again Mr..
Virtz and stranger No. consented to
indulge him. Mr. Virtz said he had
money in the bank at Harper's Ferry
and it was proposed to go there and
finish the game. On arriving at Har-
per's Ferry Mr.. Virtz went to the
bank and drew out $3.50 representing
his hard earned savings, and joined
No. /. The strangers or accomplices
for they were, in the meantime had
laid their trap for Mr.. Virtz and he
fell an unsuspecting victim Into it.
Stranger No. 2 had disappeared and
stranger No. | proposed to look for
him after instructing Mr.. Virtz to go
home, where it was agreed to finish
| the game, and be would with stranger
No. 3.
Before Mr.. Virtz left, stranger No.
| produced two satchels exactly alike
in color and size. In one of the
satchels Mr.. Virtzs money was placed
as he thought and he took both
satchels and left.
On reaching home Mr.. Virtz told
his son about meeting the two strang-
ers and his luck in winning $1,000.
The son readily grasped at the idea
that his father had been done up and
asked him to be allowed to examine
the satchels, but Mr.. Virtz refused.
The idea then came that the men
contemplated robbing the house to
get Mr.. Virtz's $3.50 and father and
son procured shot guns and watched
all night for the expected visitors but
| they did not appear. The secret Of
Mr.. Virtz's loss came out when he
went out of the room and the son
took advantage of his fathers absence
to look into the satchels. His idea
that his father had been robbed was
confirmed at glance. The satchels
were empty, and thereby hangs the
tale of Mr.. Virtz's credulity in
strangers and the thieving propensity
Of the latter to prey upon the inno-
cent victims.