The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-10-18

such a trance that they make big
over lays through error, but I've seen
that done, too. nevertheless, and for
the hefty currency.
There was an absent minded layer
named Cushman on the block at the
Chicago tracks about ten years ago
who put himself in line for a terrible
jolt one afternoon by laying 70 to l
for a 800 bet on a horse that was
down on his blackboard as ] to z
favorite. The horse was Boundless.
"It was the first race of the day,
and with Boundless at that prohibitive
price there wasn't much doing. Cush-
man was trying to dope out some way
to round out his book and talking
with chinny friend at the same time,
and so when, by way of joke, a man
strolled up to his stool and said, Say
Boundless is to /, amt he?' Cush-
man absent mindedly replied. Yes,
and went right on talking with his
! friend
We'll, I'll take a hundred worth
of Boundless at to l. said the man,
handling a 500 bill to the bookie, who
was shy of a crew that afternoon and
was writing his own tickets. making
the sheet and paying off, all together.
The dreamy Cushman, still in his
poppy daze-I'm not saying that he
had hard night of it, but he must
haYe--deliberately wrote Boundless
ticket for $1,000 to 500 on the TO
favorite, and Tipped it to the man who
had only made the suggestion as a
joke. Not only that, but Cushman
registered the bet on his sheet with
out tumbling to the enormity of his
error.
HE didn't, in fact. see it until the
horses were on the way to the post,
when he was adding up the totals on
his sheet, When he saw it he let out
a smothered curse, and then looked
up, to see the man who had made the
bet with him standing right alongside
of him. grinning.
See il now. hey?' said the man
who had made the bet.
Yes, see it, all right said Cush-
man.
:" Goes, doesn't it?" inquired the
apparent sure-thinger.
"'It goes said Cushman. who was no
mourner. You're a cheap skate. but
the bet goes like any other bet that I
make out a ticket for. If Boundless
cops your ticket is as good as wheat.
But / don't want any more of your
play, PAL
But it happened that the man
wasn't any cheap skate at ALL and he
flushed when that name was applied 10
him. He had made the 70 to sugges-
ton, and taken the ticket more as a
joke than in any grasping spirit. and
he promptly said so, and told the book
maker that the bet could be rubbed off
for all he cared.
"Cushman was too dead game a
man to stand for even the idea of such
a thing, and he was fair besides.
Nope he said, the bet goes. /
wouldn't rub it off for you if you'd
made the mistake and came creeping
to be and asked me to do it before the
race. Let 'er flicker
"Boundlss got walloped by three
other horses in the race, and, instead
Of being $1,000 to the bad through his
absent mindedness, Cushman was in
the 500 bet.
1T saw smart Alec bookmaker PEN
Gil himself out of a goodly wad one
afternoon at Latonia a few years ago.
A black trainer had made ten-dollar
bet in the wisdom packing layers
book on a 20 to / shot, the ticket read
ing $40 to $40. The colored man was
the trainer OF the horse he'd bet on.
"The horse, in a false break, got the
bit between his teeth and ran away no
less a distance than four miles. After
being caught the horse, instead of be-
ing withdrawn, was lined up at the
gate with the rest of the field to start,
despite his long runaway. The smart
Alec bookmaker addressed the black
trainer, who was standing against one
of the betting ring stanchions, watch
ing proceedings.
I'd you like to sell that ticket o.
yours for about so cents, Jeff?' he asked