Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1899-05-02
THE CAPTAINS
"REMINISCENCES

BY George AIDE

81 Il. THE good old days have gone"
~ said the former captain of the
she'll crew. NO matter how far out
into the country you get everybody
knows about the gold brick and the
green goods. aud 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. can't explain why, but the
boys used 20 get men with the brick
that you couldn't have touched with
any kind of a gambling proposition.
You'd think q pawnbroker would be
pretty hard TO fool, wouldn't your
Well. the first gold brick ever handled
In Chicago was sold 10 pawnbrokeT.
Two OF the wisest guys that ever got to-
gether came into Chicago with the brick
and the scheme. They'd got it out west
somewhere. The first thing they did
was to let Chicago man into the game,
and they picked out q good one. too
Wen call him Johnny. but that wasn't
his name. lie had a saloon and plenty
OF money and q pull. and after they'd
swelled around with him a week or two
they had a great standing. Then
Johnny introduced them to the pawi-
broker and they sprung the gold brick
on him. He knew they had just come
from the west and figured thatEhey 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 q cinch TO get rid Of any
amount In the lump that way. He ex-
amined the brick and figured on the
weight, and finally, think. he offered
them $500 for 1t. OF course they
passed him q phoney brick. lie must
have been suspicious and nervous, for
he got wise before they had time &c
duck.
"The two Of them and Johnny were in
the back room there at JOhnny's saloon
splittin' up the coin. and just rs they
walked out TO go up TO the haruud 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 tho bar like an express
train. but before he could grab either
Of these fellows Johnny caught him
nround the waist and held him fast and
began 30 yell: What's the natter
What's THE matterg Well, this fellow
tried TO answer, but he was so mad al
he could do was splitter 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.
"Ihere was the pawnbroker trying tc
get 10 the back door and follow them
and Johnny hanging on TO him and
shaking him like a rat and hollerin''
, 'What't the matter2 What's the mat
ter?' Then when the rawubroSer tried
! to tell him he would slam him around
, and beg him TO keep quiet and tell what
, was the matter. At last the pawn
b broker managed TO say That these fel
a lows had robbed him Then Johnny
] was good and surprised. Why didn'
J YOU Tell me that before ? he says Come
p on. and wen see where they've gone to.
I By that time these fellows were two
miles away. OF course Johnny wal
0 sore. He kept sayin'; why didn't 70,
tell me what was the matter when YOU
first came imp Then all the pawn
D broker could do was weep. And the fun
b niest part Of II was that he never got OF
E to johnny"
e Then the ex-captain told Of the palm.
e days Of open gambling and taking a
= the county fairs.
e "For two or three years | handled
>. whole crowd OF workers" he said.
I would pay a certain lump sum for tn
3 grating privileges at a fair, and thel
? I'd divide up my men to work all kind
Il Of schemes. We used to run wheel AM
u play the shells and sell iewelry AM
u money in little boxes, and buy back gol
T watches aud buggy whips for twic
y what we sold them for and SO on, Oh
u everything that was ever invented {
IS separate n sucker from his money.
t THE funniest experience | ever ha
d when was in that line was out in lows
+ We had TO jump all the way from Penn
T. sylvanla to make this fair In Iowa. an
e as was paying big salaries to ere
Is OF men. and had paid the fair associ'
l. iion $500 for The privilege. was littl
# anxious 10 ger out there on time and g
e TO work You understand, Of cours
n that grating is managed on strict bus
e ness principles. Every man that wa
n with me received a fXed salary. and
o could depend upon him to turn over
l. me all that he got from the sucker
p As say. it was long jump from PEN
II sylvania 10 Iowa. and we didn't reac
N our town until the second day Of II
fsir. SO. 3 bite of breakfast and hu