Daily new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1897-1906, 1899-10-30
SAME OLD STORY.
A Fool and his Money Soon
Part.

/
to The Tune of $75O-The Old Mans
Loss Would Have Paid For his Local
Paper For Five Hundred Years
But he Could HaYe Learned Enough
Had he Paid For one Year.
/ Hagerstown Mail
Two sharpers worked the flim-flam
game on Cornelius Virtz, well
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, as 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 a man driving
along. The stranger stopped TO in
quire OF Mr.. Virtz If he knew of a
farm in the neighborhood for sale or
if be 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 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 a
large estate, which could not be adj
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. : proposed
TO stranger No. that they play a
| little game. 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 81, 600 note. Mr.. Virtz eagerly
watched the game and when he was
invited to join in he did SO without
much persuasion
The threc-handed deal proceeded
for while and Mr.. Virtz could not
believe his eyes that he had won
81 900 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 go 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 lie
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. 2.
Before Mr.. Virtz left. stranger No.
produced two satchels exactly alike
in color and size. In one Of the
satchels Mr.. Virtz's 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.. Writes 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 a glance. The satchels
were empty, and thereby hangs the
tale OF Mr.. Writes credulity In
strangers and the thieving propensity
OF the latter to prey upon the inno-
cent victims.