The Washington times., 1902-04-13

ia. was on metpppers and dropped into
| fhlliie 10 see ef / couldn't lift few
| ieathe[s- stops at bum hotel and
"hen goes to de. Ia able to get me chuck
runs up against dis Barney you talk Of.
| ne axes me what's me name and what S
n'e game. tells him I'm litter of
Ieathers. Barney tells me "dat's queer !;
III a pnnco man from New York, but I'm
on me last legs now for I'm loosin' me
| graft from want of practice" I informed
bafney dat there would be some'ting do
Ing When de Germans hooked the Watch
on de Kline in couple of days He says
II dere is likely to be anything doing he
would be in at de death. We went to his
room and made up little scheme. One
DAY he was TO go out and do the "stalling
and would lift the feathers. The next
day | would do the talking and he would
do de lifting.
our little scheme was going to work
all o. X. If we could both make good at
our gratis of pickpocket and con man.
lhe hrst day it was me turn to do de
lifting. We went amongst de crowd. and
when he did little talking / would do a
little lifting, and dere was de whole
cheese When | came back | had several
fat wallets and about twenty feathers.
We got $3.50 out of de bunch, dat was not
bad day by no means. Well, the next
day II was Barney's turn to do the lifting
and mine to do the jostiling. Barney was
shrewd guy, and he was con man
all right. but he couldn't pick pocket
Tor million plunkers. He worked
scheme on me which makes dis a story.
He afterward told me OF de scheme by
which he roped me in.
1t was like dis; he new he couldn't
lift leather wild out getting it in de neck
so he goes down town and buys about fif-
teen pocketbooks and put a dollar or two
in dem and in one of dem he put so. He
came back and said he was ready to go
out to git de feathers. We went among
the crowd again, and l saw several guys
take dere wallets from dere coats and
look at dem. l nudged Barney and said
''deres fat one and you'se got a good
chance" He walked past de guy wild out
touchin' him. | said. what's de matter.
have youse lost your nerve? Why didn't
you'se get dat wallet?"
i did get it, he said, and shows me
one exactly like de one de guy had
i showed him several other old gees
ers and told him 1t was like finding de coin
on de street. He didn't touch the people
but glides by. ! asked him II he lost his
nerve or what was de matter. He said
he had not lost his nerve but had gotten
de leather, and showed me purse. We
repeated dis operation for about fifty
times and l thought we had gotten about
81 coo from de way he got dem books. My,
says TO myself but dat guy is a slick
one he is wonder. When We got to de
hotel and counted de money, we had
about SIG or s17. Dat was enough to make
me heart burst widin me TO see all of dat
feller's talent wasted on little sums like
dat
- 1 said to Barney. Barney dis is in
deed sad, we had better go somewhere
where you can get some coin. You're
wonder, de slickest what ever walked" He
said all right. he would leave de town and
we would come TO Washington. We did and
now you find me here in de hands of the
detectives. Ef.t
"'I afterward learned said the lad dat !
Barney bought dem books and never !
swiped one of de fifty what We had when
he came in