The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-07-10
BAMBOOZLED ROAD AGENTS
How Shrewd German Tricked Sharp
ers in Phoebe, Nevada
Chicago Inter-Oeean.

when I was attending to business in
Phoebe, New, twenty odd years ago.
miles from a railroad. and lacked d good
many OF the ornaments of a real high
civilization. But the money part of il
was well represented, and among the
lucky chaps was Fred Schuster, a. thrifty
German trCm Frisco, who wandered out
there and coPQered the brewing business
he had 4 brewery which, however good
II might have been as a producer Of beer.
showed promise enough for MIN to get
10000 III cash out OF il. not 10 mention a
note or two, and Fred concluded at once
to get out with his money and go back
to the luxury OF San Francisco. The boss
was named Lynch. and he was a SOOd
friend OF SchuSterS s So was the livery
stable keeper, Tr2verS. the same one who
has the mail contracts in New York Cit~
now. and Travers had pair of me horses
that could 90 the distance better than
anything IN that country The three
friends talked the matter over. and next
day SchuSter announced that he would
celebrate his departure, which was 10
occur on Tuesday OF the following week
by wlde-open BANQUET the Friday night
before al the hall over Lynch's saloon.
In the meantime. Lynch came to me and
told me 10 hold myself in readiness 10 go
at a minutes notice TO a mine Of his a
dozen or so miles down the road to put
up pump.
The banquet came off according to
announcement, and was the biggest social
function that Phoebe had ever Known. All
the town was out including every road
flowed like water. Schuster was there
in dress suit-think of that, will you. III
Phoebe, twenty-five years ago, and no
body offered to shoot holes in it The
host forced the festivities. so to speak.
which began at in the evening. and by
10 O'Clock most everybody was drunk, in
Guiding SchuSter. who seemed to be
drunken than anybody About this time |
hai Cral.a
don't drink TO excess. and going down
stairs, found Lynch at the side door with
TraVerS team OF bays hltched TO a buggy
There was nobody around the streets and
l wondered what Lynch was doing there
II -te2d OF being at the banquet, where I
mad seen him not hall an hour before. He
V ted to know If l was ready to start
at once tor the mine, and. although il
was entirely unexpected, promptly told
him I was. I didn't have on my working
clothes, but that didn't count for much
there. He got out ana I got in. and be-
fore l had got myself fixed. SchuSter in
his dress suit and as sober as I thought
before he was drunk, Joined US hurriedIy
and got into the buggy with me He had
a light overcOat around his shoulders that
ne put on before he sat down. l dlGn
quite understand what SchusJer had 10
DO with the pump, but before I could
ask any questions Lynch told ne he
would explain after we had got started,
and said II was time for US TO be off
We drove away slowly and quietly. as
Schuster said he didn't want 70 wake up
the police, and as soon as we got beyond
the town, he told me we were to drive 10
the railroad. and that he had his traps
and his $4,000 in gold in the buggy. This
was more than my contract called for. but
1 wasn't going 20 back out then, and
hitting the horses a lick We few along
: the road like a cyclone I had always
wanted $1,000 il seemed such a nice
poetical kind Of sum of money 70 have.
I but now that 7 did have ii. 1 never was
i,711l rr.,s~ nI. Il
those road agents discovered Schuster' S
absence. or guessed that he had skipped
they would be after US on horses. and I
did not like the idea of being chased for
a few dozen miles and being shot out OF
a buggy. | would have much preferred
not to have the $4,000. II was a fine
night for driving. jSSt warm enough. and
as we kept the horses up TO the best the
road would allow, we kept our ears turned
backward for the sound of hoofbeats, and
each OF US had two reVOlvers in easy
reach
We stopped FOL. breakfast forty miles
from Phoebe, Schuster changing his
clothes as we drove the last mile or two.
We gave our team a good rest, with an
eye on our buggy ali the time, and al
noon We started again. making forty
miles by dark. and the next day we
reached the railroad in time to catch the
train for Salt Lake City I went there
with SchuSter. and as We pulled out OF
/ the station and knew We and the SIS 00-
were safe. Schuster tapped himself on the
head. with a peculiar German smile. and
said: 'MenDe I vas a DUtchman vat
dOn'd know Something's. aber nicht.' Then
he waved his hand toward Phoebe in
farewell. He wanted me TO go TO Frisco
and stay a year with him, but I had
other business TO attend 10. When I got
back my team. four DAYS later they were
as good as ever. and went into Phoebe
as though I had not driven more thar
a dozen miles. but everybody knew where
I had been. The road agents had very
/ little TO say. but one OF them told me
/ in speaking incidentiy of Schuster. that
he hated a liar"