The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-04-12
AN OUTLAW TRACK TRAGEDY
4 RAGING MAN'S STORY OF HIS
 FAILURE

10 Get u FOrtune--lt Had Heeh Ar ranged That the Race should Be s l Wnlkovcr--Yet, After All, the soii-
 tary Horse Failed to Win-AIexandcr islands Uncertain Racing. Wee, wee" remarked the young-old man with the mildewed face and the outstanding ears, as he stood on Sixth avenue corner one afternoon last week shooing approved players that came along in the direction of the poolroom with the changed address, what larks us girls used to have when the Shet- lands were gstrolling around the old desperado' track, Alexander Island, across the creek from Washington, goodness gracious sakes alive. And the old-time outside man gazed shiftily at ar oughneck club swinger who just then numbered around the corner to chase a push-cart picture pedler' Alexander Island was the place where you played every card in the box with the copper in, and even then you were so liable to get the quadruple cross even at the hands of your room- mate that you were never able to feel like anything but ab oneless shad for more Il ten minutes al a stretch.
 Member the great Alexander Island walkover in 94? No? I do. Yes, I re- member it. I had the longest smoke out of that that was ever cooked over a lamp, and when the wind-up came It was me to feel and look like the lee scuppers of a Chinese junk on shafk-hh soup day or nothing at all.
 All of six owners there needed the ochre papers the worst way; and that, I might just as well state right now, is the way they got it. None of 'em had a Percheron in his barn that could run fast enough to keep the bumble- bees away. and none of 'em had got in- to the money since the beginning ot the meeting.
 At this stage of it the six of them got into the habit of sizing each other up out of the slits of their eyes, and finally the night fitted along when they got together. When they got through conferring that night they walked out separately with expressions of great calm on their maps.
 q used the sandbag on one of them, a pretty good mate of mine as mates went at Alexander Island, and let me in. When he got through I could see myself spending the approaching winter on the nigh shore of Lake Como, fishing for fresh water founders with green cut into the shape of flies for bait.
 nj I q 1f1ssli T that I might get locomotor ataxia and thus be prevented from making a run for mine when it was due to happen. It was to happen on the first day of the following week.
 Each of the six was to enter one of his mutts in a six-furlong sprint and to keep out others that intended to en- ter for the race by quietly tipping them off as to what was due, thus enabling them to go after their bits. Duly ap- pointed agents were to hike for New York Baltimore, Philadelphia and some of the Class B towns in between, and get down the money on the horse 1f the six selected on the Sunday before the killing
 ''Then, when the dough was all down, |
 
 If the horses were to be scratched ex- cept the one upon which the coin had | been spread thereby giving that one a | valkover, one of those zinc lined things | n which the lone remaining skate has | >nly to show up with his boy on his [ pack and stroll around the course, while [ he gang in the strand whistle the lock step to pull down the main end of the [ purse
 '"The five scratching owners were to hrow a caloric talk into the stewards stand that their animals had suddenly been taken sick There didn't seem to be my reason in the world why this frame shouldn't be got away with, especially because everything went at Alexander k sland except throwing rocks through he windows of the judges stand. and because the only people due to get the putt end of it were the propretors of he poolrooms in the big and the No 3 owns
 This little conversation said the me of the six who let me in, 'wil set you pack just about $200, say, which you are soing to put down for me on the num- ,er drawn, yes?'
 l tOld nm not to talk about such | polish money as $200, and that if the rig came out as plotted I'd fix him out 0 that he'd have to promise me that le'd never do another days work as ong as he lived. l got his permission to ct my running-mate who was about 300 to the good at the time, in on the ish-out, on condition that nv pal, too, hould come to the front with the own r's bit when the walkover was all walked and the solitary number hung ut.
 E'When l told my pal about it he too, egan to dope up on system that he'd lng had in mind for beating the bank t Monte Carlo, where, he said, he bought the two of us might go just as tell spend the cold weather. We ought Q be able to get fair board and lodging in Monaco for about $100 a ay each, said he and what would be he use of our jogging around to Con mental places that we'd never heard luch about? Oh, were we smoking, laybe not!