Evening star., 1902-08-30
A PROFITABLE GAME

Among the more or less novel features
In connection with Mrs. Cornelius Wander
bits much-described midway and theatri-
cal fete at Newport the other day was
Harry Wallace, the famous manipulation
OF the Shell game" said an attache Of the
secret service. wallace Is really no long
er In the shell-game business, having made
enough money to retire some time ago, but
the inducement offered by the Vanderbilts
was SO tempting, understand, that he felt
bound to consent to show the swell guests
at the affair how the jays are plucked at
country fairs and the like by means of the
elusive little pea that never happens to be
under the right shell. The arrangement
with him was that he should return all of
the money that ne took from the Wander
bllts guests, and this he did as soon as he
won it.
But the shell game at a swell society
fete wasn't exactly a new thing, although
the Vanderbilts may have thought that 1t
was. 1t was one of the features of mid
way entertainment given by a famous Chi
cago woman during the worlds fair on
the grounds of her palatial home. She en-
gagged as many of the regular Midway peo-
PIE from the fair grounds as she could get,
and she commissioned a Chicago detective
TO engage the services of a first-rate shell
worker SOS to carry the fair idea out as
realistically as possible.
a
among the western shell workers.
Now, you've got to be on the level, you
know, the detective elaborately explained
to the shell worker. No phony business
Al you've got to do is to show 'em how
the CRAFTS worked, and then pass 'em their
money back, see? There's a couple of hun
dred in 1t for your time and trouble, and
that ought to be enough to make good,
Sure thing said the shell man. I
wouldn't swing the dudes and dolls for
thelr dough for anything. How could there
be any bogus game in it, anyhow, when I'll
De handing 'em their money back as soon
as 1 take it in after showing 'em that they
don't know 1t alp
The midway show of the famous Chi
cago woman was hot success, and the
most entertaining feature of it was the
stunt of this shell man. He did his own
barking for his game and his booth was
crowded from the hour the reception be-
gan until the wndup. He went through the
performance just exactly as if he had been
working 1t on the outside of county fair
grounds, and he pretended to be as nervous
over the probable descent of the consta-
bes as If he really had his winning clothes
on. But when the amused men and wo-
men in evening clothing failed. as of course
they always did. to point out the shell COW
ering the pea, he galantly handed them
back the bills of large denominations
which they passed over to him in making
their bets Just for fun
The shell man was voted all kinds Of
an amusing cuss, and the hostess was con-
graduated upon having introduced so novel
a feature But when on the following day,
and for several days after that. counter
felt bills of large denominations began to
appear all over Chicago, and when it be-
came certain that the bills were being pass
ed by fashionable men and women of the
town. the enthusiasm over the amusing
stunt Of that shell man all oozed out. The
secret service bureau got after him. but
1t couldn't do thing with him. He
didn't leave Chicago, nor did he make the
slightest effort to keep under cover OF
course, he mildly denied that while working
his shell game at the fete he had handed
counterfeit money back to the players In
stead of the good bills that they had pass
ed to him, but that's what he had done, all
the same. But it couldn't be proven, none
of the phony money being found in his pos
session when the secret service men grab
bed him and searched him and his lodgings,
and so he had to be turned loose. He
wasn't regular shower of the queer, but
he couldn't resist so fine an opportunity
and he got away with about $1,000 on that
cCaSiOn -