The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1905-09-29

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and would place them back in his
pocket. Then suddenly reaching to an
other pocket, he would bring forth an
other pair, either weaker or stronger,
and say: r. y >.~.a'
i "See here, believe these glasses are
all right for you; suppose you try them
again. Perhaps you were little nerv-
GUS when you tried them BEFORE" And
he would continue to make these shifts
I from one pocket to the other until the
| woman imagined, at least, that she
| could see all right, and then, if pos
sible, he would close deal.
| On the other hand, should the trans
action take place in the street, he
would introduce a pair of what are
known as plano lenses, which are moth
ing more than ordinary window glass.
With these no matter what her age a
woman could see off into the distance.
and often bought them on the spur OF
the moment, believing they would also
enable her to do close work
|. All was fish that came to this graft
er's net. The spectacles cost him S2.75
per dozen. The material was Roman
alloy" which will tarnish and get
black within three days after coming
in contact with the face.
Thseman declared that he had for
years been working on what he con-
sidered a paltry salary. His father,
who had been well to do, had recently
died leaving mis- estate so entangled
that it would cost more to unravel it
than it was worth. AS a result the
son had grown desperate and had
! started out to make a killing
The following Saturday evening,
while at the theater, l saw thi;
"grafter" enter one of the boxes with
party OF society people. He wore a
full-dress evening suit, an elegant
silk-lined overcoat and diamonds.
Happening to spy me in the parQuet.
he placed the thumb and forefinger Of
each hand together, and laughingly
held them up to his eyes, in a manner
to suggest spectacles.
Two weeks later I opened a store
under the Great Northern hotel.
One Saturday afternoon this graft
err called on me. He told me that for
the past three or four weeks his profits
had averaged 5000 week. On this
| occasion he was dressed in an up-to-
date business suit, fine derby hat and
low-cut shoes, and had the appearance
of well-to-do professional or business
man.
-. P" he said, although always
take vacation on Saturday, never
theleSs clear ten dollars or more Not
that l particularly need it," he went
on, 'but just to keep my hand in
So saying, he took from his pocket
half dozen pair of nose glasses, Of
the same quality as his spectacle stock.
AS we stood looking from my store
window, he said: ''Ill just watch for
my man and show you how easy it is
to make dollar" Then he gathered
some mud from his shoes and rubbed
it over a pair of his eyeglasses.
There comes my man." he cried an
instant. later. Nov watch me-"
Darling from the store, he quickly
stepped into the gutter, in front Of "his
man." and, reaching down, took par
ticular pains to attract the mans at
tention. He rose with the pair of nose
glasses in his hand.
Of course the mud and clay clinSing
to the glasses gave them the appear
ance Of having lain for some time in
the dirt
The man was at once interested and,
putting them on his nose, he took
some printed matter from his pocket
and began reading, saying: "They
just fit me-"
"Well," said the CRATER give me-
five dollars ana you may have them,
| and I'll bet they never cost less than
ten dollars
mo-" said the man, Il wouldn't do
that, but I'll give you two dollars for
ther,.'
Make it three dollars and take
them along" urged the CRATER.
NO" hesitated the victim. ''but I'll
split the difference and give you two
dollars and a half for them
All right" laughed the CRATER,
"take them along; they are no good
to me-
The man paid the money and passed
on with satisfied smile.
The CRATER laughed immoderately at
his success and declared that there
was always something ridiculously
funny in every deal of this kind. ~-.,
In selecting his dupe, he kept his
eyes open for a well-dressed man., OF
business-like appearance, and of about
SO years of age. The glasses were of
the proper retroactive power to magnify
the letters for such a person. They
cost him less than 20 cents per paiT.
Twenty minutes later the CRATER"
babe me sood-by. Meeting another
man not three rods away, he played
the same trick on him, and '1anded"
him for two dollars inside of five
minutes. Looking toward the store,
where myself and clerks were inter-
ested spectators, he held up two fin
gers, indicating the amount of cash
received.
l last heard of our college graduate
CRATER two years later. | read a full