The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1904-03-17
They followed him across the build


ing and looked down on an agitated
swarm Of faces. Five men were stand
ing on the entrance steps to the door
below them, and the crowd was thick
~ massed beyond, leaving little semi
circle clear about the steps. Those be-
hind struggled to get closer and leaped
in the air to catch glimpse of what
was going on. HAIRLESS stood alone on
the top step, his hand resting on the
shoulder of the pale and contrite and
sobered Hartley. On the lowest step
Jim Bardlock was standing with sheep
tshly hanging head and between him
and HAIRLESS the two gamblers of the
walnut shells. The Journalist held in
his hand the implements Of their pro-
| fession.
Eyes; give up every cent" he said
quietly. "You've taken $50 from this
boy. Hand it over"
The men began to edge down closer
to the crowd, giving little, swift, des-
perate, searching looks from left to
right and right to left and moving nerv.
ously about like weasels in a trap.
"Close up, there said HAIRLESS.
'Don't let them OUT
"W'y can't we git no square treat
ment here?" one of the gamblers whin-
ed. But his eyes blazed with a rage
that belied the plaintive passivity of
his tone. 1--WE amt been runnin' no
skin. wy dye say we gotter give up
our own money? You gotter prove it
was skin. We risked our money
fair"
"Prove it.! Come up here, Eph Watts.
Friends II the editor turned to the
crowd, smiling-''f friends, here's man
we ran out of town once because he
knew too much about things of this
sort. He's come back to us again. and
he's here to stay. He'll give us an OBJ
ject lesson on the shell game''
cts pretty simple remarked Mr..
Watts. 1.-THE best way is to pick up
the ball with your second finger and
the back part of your thumb. as you
pretend to lay the shell down over it
this way" He illustrated and showed
several methods Of manipulation with
professional sang froid, and as he
made plan the vulgar swindle by which
many had been duped that morning
there arose an angry and threatening
murmur.
'You all see," said HAIRLESS, raising
his voice, "what a simple cheat it is
an old, wornout one. Yet lot of you
lost your own money on it and then
Inv cto
Hartley Bowlder lose $780, and not one
of you lifted a hand How hard did
you work for what these two cheap
crooks took from you? Ah,' he cried,
1T is because you were greedy that
| they robbed you SO easily! You know
it's true. It's when you want to get
| something for nothing that the con
fidence mem steal the money you sweat
for and make you the laughingstock
OF the country. And you, Jim Bard
lock, town marshal; you, who con-
TESS that you went in the game 60
cents worth YOURSELF His face was
Wrathful and stern as he raised his ac-
cusing hand and leveled it at the I'M
happy municipal.
The town marshal smiled uneasily
and deprecatingly about him and, see
Ing only angry, frowning brows, hear
Ing only words of condemnation, passed
his hand unsteadily over his fat mus
tache, shifted from one leg to the other
and back again, looked up. looked
down, and then, an amiable and pleas
ure loving man, beholding nothing but
accusation and wrath in heaven and
earth and wishing nothing more than
to sink into the waters under the
earth, but having no way of reaching
them, and finding his troubles quite
unbearable and himself unable to meet
the manifold eye of man, he sought re-
lief after the unsagacious fashion of
| a larger bird than he. His burly form
underwent series of commissions not
unlike sobs. and he shut his eyes tight
and held them so, presenting a picture
OF misery unequaled in the memory Of