The Savannah morning news., 1901-03-21

snatchers or biters-are very rarely on the
| level with each other when theye work
ing as team. l particularly recall one
case of this kind. A couple of top-notch
| spark-grafters got onto the fact that the
| proprietor of a certain restaurant start
ed for his home on a Broadway car every
night about II o'clock. They had rub
| bered on this man because he always wore
in his four-in-hand tie huge, flashy,
four-stone diamond pin. The stones were
the white boys and each of EN- looked to
weigh four cerats.
THE old restaurant man generally had
pretty good bun on when he took the
car 10 go home and he looked good to the
pair of spark-grafters. So they fixed a
night to get that pin They boarded the
car in which the restaurant man sat doz-
ing, in the enjoyment OF his regular CO.
ing-home jag, and waited for the car 20
fill up with folks from the Broadway the
aters.
THE old chap, very gailant, got up to
| give lady his seat. Then one Of the
spark-grafters gave him the elbow in the
small Of the back and when he turned TO
| put up a yelp, the other one pinched the
| four-stone pin. 1t looked a good thous-
and worth, anyhow, to the crook who had
done the ebowing. They got off the car
and made for the plant of the fence right
off. The crook who had the pin handed
the goods over TO the fence and named
his lease figure with a confident grin. The
fence took the pin, looked at 1t just once.
spat on 1t and remarked:
'Nothin' doin in the rock candy line
just now. Stop your kiddin'.
THE crook who hadn't colared the pin
looked tremendously surprised and the
crook who had collared the pin simulated
! tremendous surprise.
"'Do you felers mean to tell me that
you don't know this is a phony2' said the
fence holding up the pin.
"Well, sure enough, the pin was bogus
just fairly sawed Brazil brilllants. The
crook who hadn't swiped the pin looked
disappointed and gloomy and said that his
eyesight must be failing-that he'd never
been twisted before in piping of the
proper sort OF rocks. The other crook
chimed in and remarked that he'd never
| felt so cheap in his life. Then the two
| spark-grafters separated.
1.-THE one who'd collared the pin and
who had it in his kick all the time took
1t to another fence and got 81 800 for II
without hitch You see, he'd had a
bogus of the genuine pin made and the
bogus was the one he run In on the first
fence when he went there with his pal.
period OF thoughtfttlness. When he found
out that his suspicious were correct he
chased after his ingenious partner and
angrily demanded his bit. All he got for
this was the mirthful boot and that part
nership was dissolved. The crook who
had thus been done by his pal passed
the word around about 1t among his
friends in the profession. They handed
him the chortie, and the other crook was
A.T
thing for his foxiness.
'FYou take a bunch OF leather workers
the kind that go through crowds at a
circus, or fair grounds, or a grandstand
when a big parades going on-and you'll
find that they watch each other like
hawks, that they're always suspicious OF
each other, and that they're always quar-
reling among themselves. The wise guy
of push of leather workers is the fellow
whom the pocketbook is passed by the
dip who nails 1t. He's generally the heap
chief of the gang, but he's always under
suspicion. The rest of the crowd always
feel that he skins the feathers before they
join him, and, as a simple matter OF fact,
he generally does.
1--WE known bank sneaks to dump each
other time and again. About nine years
ago wholesale candy manufacturer was
standing at the head OF the line before
the receiving teller's window OF an old
East Side bank. He was waiting for the
receiving teller who had stepped back for
a moment, to resume his place al the
window 1t was warm and the candy
manufacturer wanted to mop his fore
head. SO he laid his bank book, which
contained between its leaves a matter OF
IS 900 in bills, down on the counter and
reached back for his handkerchief.
THE sneak standing right back Of him
called his attention to the fact that he
had dropped a bill and sure enough, when
he looked down the merchant saw the
bill at his feet. He stopped for 1t, and
1t was then that sneak No. collared the
bank book resting on the counter and
slipped out with his pal-the one who had
Informed the merchant about that bill
lying on the floor. When they got out they
took cars going in different directions.
1.-THE sneak with the dough didn't turn
I'D that night at the place he had APP
pointed to meet his pal nor the night
after that. Then the other crook got the
bunch that he'd been ditched by his
PARTNER. He was so sore about It that he
went right down to headquarters and
made his holler. The other sneak. who
was on the wing all night, was collared
on Union Pacific train somewhere In
Nebraska Just two days later, with all
did a stretch OF three times the length
his pal got.
even the green-goods workers of the
old DAYS used to give each other the boots
whenever they got a chance. III just
mention one case. A two-handed team Of
the green-goods statesmen sprung a come
on In Pennsylvania, who wanted 5000
worth Of the stun for 5000. Now, that
was a pretty neat transaction. even in
the days when the green-goods were be-
ing sold here like so much yellow laun-
dry soap.
1.-THE come-one turned up all right. the
switch in the valises was made as per
schedule. the good thing walked out
with his bag OF waste paper, and It WAS
10 20 the team 10 make the equal divide.
They had a drink or two out OF the cab
met bottle before getting down 20 busi-
ness, and the head guy Of the partner
ship lei his pal have the knockout drops
in his liquor When the pairs light went
out the other one waltzed away with the
comc-on's good 5000, 1ammed West, and
ays TlnafIafNH