Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1900-07-24
HE'F OOLED THEGANG
u SNUG LITTLE FORTUNE WHICH THE
ROAD AGENTS MISSED.
9As shrewd Trick by which =
Thrifty German Got His s7b,000
Across OHe Hundred and Twenty8
Miles Of wild and LoneIy Road N
Nevada to . Rnilroad.

When was attending to business In;
Phoebe, New, good many years ago"
said veteran miner, 1.-The town was 100
miles from railroad and lacked good
many Of the ornaments of q real high
civilization. But the money part OF 1t
was well represented, and among the
lucky chaps was Fred Schuster, a thrifty.
German from Frisco, who wandered
out there and coppered the brewing busi-
ness. He had q brewery which, however
good it might have been US producer Of
beer, showed promise enough for him to
get $780, 600 in cash out Of 1t, not to men-
tlon note or two. aud Fred concluded
Mt once to get out with his money and go
back to the luxury OF San francisco.
1t was easy enough to talk about, but
there was that 12O miles over wild and
lonely road, and Phoebe just ut that time
held % road agents who needed about
Z $15,O 600 in their business and were hang
ing around waiting for the Dntchmnn to
start for the railroad with his stuff. They
didn't care for the notes especially, but
they did want that cash, and wanted it
bad enough to have spilled blood for 1t.
Schuster knew all this as we'll us they
did, and ut the same time he did not let
up on his proposition to get out OF town.
THE boss saloon keeper and politician
of the town was named Lynch, aud he
was good friend of Schuster's. So was
the livery stable keeper, Iravers, aud
Travers had a pair Of fine horses that
could go the distance better than any
thing in that country. The three friends
talked the matter over, and next dny
Schustcr announced that he would cele-
brate his departure, which was to occur
on Tuesday Of the following week, by a
wide open banquet the Friday night be-
fore at the hall over Lynch's saloon. In
the meantime Lynch came TO me and told
me to hold myself in readiness to so ut a
| minutes notice TO mine of his dozen
or so miles down the road to put up a
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 agent in the place, and the cham
| payne flowed like water. Schuster was
1 there in dress suit-think Of that, will
/ you, in Phoebe, over 25 years ago, and
4 nobody offered to shoot holes in it, The
/ host forced the festivities, so to speak
| which began at in the evening, and by
1 10 o'clock most everybody was drunk
including Schuster, who seemed to be
drunken than anybody About this time
4 was called out, being duly sober, us
\ don't drink to excess, and, going down
stairs, found Lynch ut the side door will
! Trnvers' team OF bays hitched to n bug
gy. There. was nobody around the
streets, and wondered whit Lynch was
doing there instead of being at the ban
quet, where had seen him not half al
hour before. He wanted to know il
4 was ready to start al once for the mine
aud, although it was entirely unexpected
promptly told him was. didn't have
on my working clothes, but that didn'
count for much there. He got ont. ant
i got in, and before I had got nysel
fixed Schuster. in his dress suit and a
sober as thought before he was drunk
Joined us l:1.riedlv and got into the bug