Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-05-26
RUINED BY eoop[ncK

him on his way to Pittsburg. where he said
| he had chance to go to WORK. The men
| who knew him Clipped in to make up a bit
| of purse for him. but they only smiled
| covertly at each other when he mentioned
| going to work
| Hes been a bum too long now ever to
| go to work again, even if he could get
| work, which he couldn't" said one of the
Key punchers who contributed to giving the
| old-timer little push along. There's a
| man that a horse put on the bum-not the
| horses, understand. but horse-just one
| single, solitary old cripple of a horse, of
| thoroughbred blood, instinct and gameness
put an old cripple of a horse for all that
| The horses name was DR.. Rice If there
| mad never been a thoroughbred horse by
the name of DR.. Rice, that broken-down
wreck OF telegraph operator would prob
Any at,, De punching Key and making good
| living today, with his wife and children
around him. instead of wandering around
| the country and involuntarily posing as a
| horrible example
| New York office, and my plant was right
alongside of his. He came down to the
once one winter might've were on the
| night shift-with a preoccupied look in his
| eye noticed 1t, and l asked him what
| was up.
Say he asked me, what horse dive
suppose is going to win the Suburban ham
| dicap next year,
Notwithstanding the fact that 1 thought
| ne was either crazy or drunk, or both,
| Couldn't help but laugh in his face Here
sre nao" was about a foot deep on the
| around the zero mark, and this key puncher
| who worked alongside of me was asking
me what horse thought would win a big
| coming summer
After 1 got through laughing 1 looked
him over carefully and 1 said to him
taka he't eiaL put in sick" slip. pal. and
take night off You're seedy from over
work or something, and the rest'n bring
| you around all right
| at me grim,y.
| "I'm all right he said That's n
straight question 1 asked you: What horse
| DO you thinkll collar next years Suburb
an! For II you don't know 1 want to put
you next now. SOS you'll have chance to
| play him now in the winter books on the
suburban and get rich suddenly, like I'm
going to do
oh, give US rest said to him. What
| 90 you know about horses, anyhow
| Not much he admitted. but do know
this much. and that is that old DR.. Rice will
| capture next years Suburban In a walk
Then laughed again. l knew a few
| ABOUT the horses myself, having been pretty
badly bitten at the game at sundry and
| divers times for several years before that.
and l remembered good deal about old
DIR. Rice
It's plain that you've got something in
| your head that doesn't belong there
said to him. DR.. Rice win the Suburban.
| hey! Say, don't you know that DR.. Rice is
| a three-legged cripple and that he broke
| down SO badly last fall that there's not one
| chance in thousand of his ever starting
| at al again. much less starting in the great
suburban, even if his name does appear
| among the entries and the winter book
| makers are laying a price against him.
That's all right about his not starting
| said my deskmate. He'll start and he'll
| win. Better take my hint and play him for
| into md
| when he romps in you won't have to do any
more key hammering for livelihood. He's
| at % to In the betting now, but he won't
| be anything like that when he goes to the
| post
| Then he went ahead and told me, in the
| most serious manner in the world, how the
| trainer OF old DR.. Rice was a relative of his
| Wifes. and how this trainer. on a recent
| visit at his fiat, had convinced him that
| there would be only one horse in the Sub
| urban. and that one DIR. Rice. He said the
| trainer had told him that the old horse $
bad leg was being carefully patched up,
and that by the time the day arrived for
| the race he would be able to make the run
OF his life. even If he broke down and was
| never able to run again after winning the
| Suburban.
"One night he told me that he was going
| 70 mortgage little house he owned over in
| Bayonne, N. j., where he lived during the
| summer months, for $1,000, and put the
| whole bunch down in the winter books on
| DR.. Rice to win the Suburban at GO to l.
thereby standing to win $4,000 as he put
| it to me.
You are. hey? said 1. and l got I'D, put
| IN two-hour time slip and rode right up
| town to his fiat to his wife, whom I'd
h h m ior or. FOOD many years. She was at
| the nat with her mother. who was visiting
her, when got there, and l waded right
IN and told her what her husband had told
me about mortgaging that bit of New Jer-
sey property.
Don't you ever put your name to any,
thing like that l warned her Take an
| old friends advice. and don't Won do II
lou IL be sorry If you do To play horse
with velvet money on the very day of the
race Is bad enough and dangerous enough.
put Tor man to mortgage the only HIT lie
piece OF property he owns for the sake of
| putting all the proceeds on a horse raca
that isn't going to be run for seven nnonths
Is sheer imbecility, and l wish you'd prom
Use me that you won't let your husband do
anything like that N'
| Say, do you know she inst I.u,hoa =.
me? She had the DR.. Rice microbe inst %
bad as her husband did-probably becausa -
was her horse-racng relative who told them
ABOUT lt-and she said that she thorouphI,,
approved of what her HUSBAND intend 1' ~
dolng-that it was the chance of their liyes
to get rich. etc, etc. went away thorough.
ly disguised.
| Two nights later when nv dasL,,,+
down to the office, he leaned over and said
Wei. I've been and gone and done #.
Got 100 on the little tepee over In Jersey
and every silver of it's down with the win
ter bookies at 60 to against Mr.
tEousand'll be neat little bunch to Duil
down, won't it?'
| You're an ass" was all I was able IN
say to him. for my disgust was great.
| We'll. you remember what happened
| don't you? The word was passed around
in the late spring that old Dr. Rice ba j
been pretty well patched up. and that he
had shown some great trials for a cripDle
| The odds against him We're cut to 30 to /
A week before the race the odds were again
cut to 10 to l, and when old Dr. Rice went
] to the post he looked perky and he
seemed to possess so much of his old mag
| nificent speed that there was a heavy posI.
time play on him. and his price at the close
was about 6 to l. The old cripple got away
flying. He was well up in the bunch when
his troublesome leg went back on him and
| ne faltered. but with an exhibition of game
ness such as was never seen on an Anleri-
/ can race course, before or since the old
| vagabond took the bit in his teeth and
moved down the leaders and flashed frs,
under the wire literally on three legs! And
| he never raced again. at that.
You don't see how 1t ruins a man to
hand him 10000. you say? Well you say
| that because you don't know about this
case My deskmate collected all of his
money the next day, resigned his job, and
he's never been worth a hurrah in Hohok,Is
| from that day to this. He was fiat broke
I n.-yrS L..