The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-10-11

how the evening was holding up when
the mavericks, painted up impressionist
| style by the long haired decorators, CREASED
under the wire, and the ringer people found
| II just like wheedling gran'ma out Of the
marshmallow money.
Il remember once when q bunned-up
owner of . ringer that was just edging
along to the wire at Iron Hill about forty
lengths in the lead lost track Of his ringers
name In his rummy and other enthusiasm.
He stood right below the judges stand,
swaying like Colorado aspen in half gale
Of wind, and roofing his money home.
Come on. you spawned old ring-boner
Of a plum-duff horser he bawled, mad
vertently using the real name of the ringer,
horse as well known at the time on the
legitimate tracks Of the East as the valves
Of Jack Adler, the calliope Of the betting
| ring. are known to racegoers now.
"The horse was running under the name
of Jim B., or something like that, and Jim
B. sounded "a much like the ringers real
name as mine does like Montmorency We're
| de Veres. 1t was faur pas. so to speak,
on the part Of the ringer worker and one
OF the stewards in the judges stand couldn't
help but notice it.
Jack called the steward, softly, to
the still shouting ringer man, oh. Jackr
Huhf inquired the owner Of the horse
that Was winning under the alias, stopping
his roofing for moment, and looking up at
| the steward.
Be discreet my boy called down the
! steward, mildly. Be discreet. Try to
| remember your horses name, you know
Aw pshaw, pal. it's all rightr said the
ringer man, grinning joyously. Nobod'
| amt a-goin' t say nothin' tn boys ia
In, and then he rooted his ringer under
| the wire.
That's how hard the ringer game was
down In Maryland when the dizzy old des-
perado tracks were going.
"They didn't put their ringers over down
there for the huge cush nor try to make
any Polk Badget killings, because the
ringer workers needed the practice. and
they didn't want to chase all Of the outlaw
bookies to the duck swamps in a body and
at once They were content to tear on q
| few thousands on each job for the fun they
| got out Of the thing.
| There was one first class Eastern selling
|
rung through three different times under
three different names and daubed up with
three separate and dist met coats Of boss var
nish down at the Iron Hill track, and it's a
wonder the good old plug didn't croak from
| closed up pores, 30 often was he painted
up and nudged to the post for the money.
He got it, too, evory time, but he never
amounted to much when he was brought
back to the legitimate tracks, for he had
grown to love the smell OF his war paint
on the outlaws, and sulked without It.
"Plenty Of the seasoned ones around
here, too. will remember that race ON a
getaway day at Iron Hill In which there
were just three, count EN-, three ringers In
horses. Most Of the boys on the grounds
got piece Of one or another Of the trio OF
ringers, and it was about the hottest case Of
the triple cross that bubbled to the surface
even down there, where your bosom pal
would smother you in your bed for q two
dollar note or an unpunched meal ticket.
First, the one ringer. as he WIS intended
to be, of the race was nailed and fixed up
and the word passed around to the right
people to unbelt for their bundles In the
Baltimore and New York poolrooms. There
was a leak in this. and man who had {
plug in the race that the ringer was tc
cop made little night ride OF it to winter
quarters In New York. and picked out q
ringer Of his own for that race.
He didn't say anything about It excep
to his closest coterie, and they went intt
the Maryland counties with the three peas
the pieces Of gas pipe. or any old thing t,
get the coin to slap down on that ringer
No. 2.
A third owner Of horse in the same
race got sniff. accidentally, Of what wa
coming of, and he made up his mind tina
he, too, might just as well give some hard
luck -varnisher job OF work. *
he slipped up to New Jersey winterine
track and brought do wn a ringer Of hls
own.
"The operator Of ringer No. didn'
learn anything about the scheme Of the
other two. The oharterer Of ringer No
only knew about the frame-up Of the mar
who was going to run ringer No. /. But
the fellow with ringer No. knew all about
the flx-it of both of the others, knew just
what their ringers could do, and therefore
he got one that was capable Of standing botf
of the other ones on their heads.
Ringer No. buck-jumped home with {
rank outsiders price against him, anc
then nearly everybody on the grounds tool
a punch at somebody else. All hand.
accused everybody else of having giveI
them the back heel and about eight dozer
Of the sure-thing hackers of ringers Nos
1 and tried to kill each other on the In
train to Baltimore.
Ihem-them was the days. as One.
Eyed Connolly used to say. III bet the
drinks that the paint industry is languish
ing in Baltimore since those old Maryland
outlaw tracks shut down.