Evening journal., 1899-05-19
THE CAPTAINS
"REMINISCENCES

BY George Ado


a. A H.TllE good old days have gone"
~ said the former captain of the
shell crew. mo matter how far out
into the country you get everybody
knows about the gold brick and the
green goods. and as for three-card
monte and the little ball. why the farm
hands go out in the barn and practice
those tricks. So what chance have we
got? The only thing that we can do
now is to stay in town and speculate In
grain.
"I'll always maintain that the gold
brick game was the best one ever in
vented. 1 can't explain why. but the
boys used TO get men with the brick
that you couldn't have touched with
any kind Of a gambling proposition.
You'd think a pawnbroker would be
pretty hard TO fool wouldn't you?
Well. the first gold brick ever handled
in Chicago was sold 10 pawubroker.
Two Of the wisest guys that ever got to-
gether came into Chicago with the brick
and the scheme. They'd got il out west
somewhere The first thing they did
was to let Chicago man into the game.
and they picked out good one. too.
Wen call him Johnny, but that wasn't
his name. He had a saloon and plenty
of money and a pull. aud after they'd
swelled around with him week or two
they had n great standing. Then
Johnny introduced them 10 the pawi-
broker and they sprung the gold brick
on him. He knew they had just come
from the west and figured that they had
come by this gold crooked and couldn't
dispose of IL themselves, but for pawn
broker who melts up old jewelry and
so on IL was a cinch to get rid Of any
amount in the lump that way. lie ex-
amines the brick and figured on the
weight. and finally. ! think. ho offered
them $4,000 for it. OF course they
passed him phoney brick. He must
have been suspicious and nervous, for
he got wise before they had time TO
duck.
"The two of them and Johnny were in
the back room there at J0hnny's saloon
splittin' up the coin. and just as they
walked out to go up to the bar and take
a drink to celebrate the good haul in the
front door comes the pawnbroker. His
hat was off and he was the craziest man
you ever saw in your life. He came
down along the bar like an express
train. but before he could grab either
of these fellows Johnny caught him
around the waist and held him fast and
began TO yell: What's the matteri
What's the matter?' Well. this fellow
tried to answer. but he was so mad all
he could do was splutter and choke and
try to break away. The two smooth
boys knew their business. They were
out the back door and up an alley like
the wind.
There was the pawnbroker trying tc
get TO the back door and follow them
and Johnny hanging on to him and
shaking him like a rat and hollerin';
WHAT the matter? What's the mat
terp Then when the pawnbrolSer tried
to tell him he would slam him around
and beg him TO keep quiet ana tell what
was the matter. AZ last the pawn
broker managed TO say that these Eel
lows had robbed him. Then Johnny
was good and surprised. Why didn'
you tell me that before?' he says. Come
on. and we'll see where they've gone to,
BY that time these fellows were tw,
miles away. or course Johnny wal
sore. He kept sayin'; Why didn't you
|, tell me what was the matter when yol
, first came in?' Then all the pawn
broker could do was weep. And the fun
7 niest part Of II was that he never got OF
TO Johnny.
Then the ex-captain told OF the palmy
days of open gambling and taking a
the county fairs
For two or three years handled {
whole crowd OF workers. he said. 4"
would pay q certain lump sum for thu
grating privileges at fair. and thel
I'd divide up my men to work all kind
Of schemes. We used to run a wheel au'
play the shells and sell jewery an,
money in little boxes. and buy back gol'
watches and buggy whips for twic
/, what we sold them for. and so on. oh
I everything that was ever invented u
D separate a sucker from his money.
e "The funniest experience ever hal
I when was in that line was out in Iowa
S We had TO jump all the way from Penn
sylvana 10 make this fair in Iowa. an
as was paying big salaries to a GREY
Of men. and had paid the fair associa
ton $500 for the privilege. ! was littl
4 anxious TO ger ont there on time and g
: to work You understand. Of cours'
i that grating is managed on strict bus
; ness principles Every man that wa
e with me received fixed salary. and
e could depend upon him 10 turn over
C me all that he got from the sucker
As say. it was long jump from Penn
: sylvauia TO Iowa. and we didn't reac
). our town until tie second day of IN
d fair. l 20. O. bite Of breakfast and hui