The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-07-29
WON WITH NO CROOKED WORK,
LIGHTNING TOOK A HAND IN TIE
WIRE TAPPING SCHEME.
Tho Reformed operator Spins q Yarn or an
Attempt TO Beat the Poolrooms MAT
Succeeded with tho Help Of the Weather
Scare for the Telegraph Man.

THO REFORMED operator spine Q Yarn or an
Attempt 70 Beat the Pooirooms 1hat
Succeeded with the Help Of the Weather
Scare for Tho Telegraph Man.
II had It foroefulIy emonstrated to me
not long ago. said the reformed poolroom
operator, shat it's always best to be on
the level. Things, good and bad, had been
going against me for q long spell. A friend
Of mine, supposed to be q prophet in race
horse events, kept handing me good things,
but they oil failed to show.
Finally, after I had hooked about every
thing negotiable but the golden moments
Of my life, O fellow came TO me with a
scheme, just q bit Of overlapping by which
we could hand the poolrooms a short arm
jab and which would Ian everybody in
the scheme way UP on Easy street. The
State would be our host for a number Of
years, however, should We be caught at the
game.
Il had always been on the square before,
and a little voice within me tried to tell
me that the deal was of color; but the
wolf began to take . more menacing posi-
ton at my front door, and as my needs
began to increase the little voice grew
fainter and fainter. At last l consented
to take part In the tapping.
"The scene OF the wire tapping was TO be
one OF the tracks on a minor circuit, maybe
athousand miles from New York and maybe
less. At any rate I, having a practical
knowledge Of telegraph wires and lineman
work, was sent out by the schemen to rec
o%nnoitre and lay out a plan OF campaign.
THE topography Of the country selected
was admirably adapted to our outlaw
scheme. For a distance Of maybe two or
three miles the wires led away from the
raoetrack across country. Then they led
over a little stream. On the bank Of this
stream was a weeping willow tree, the
~overhanging limbs of which shielded from
view any one nesting in the crotch Of the
tree. 1t would be an easy piece Of work
to climb a pole near the tree under cover
Of night and place the clamp by which the
wire would be cut in position to intercept
the news from the track. A couple OF
wires which would be invisible in the boughs
of the tree could, without much effort, be
strung to a box relay placed in the crotch
Of the tree.
my report greatly pleased the hackers
Of the deal and they proceeded to draw
up engraved and embossed designs on the
DankrOlS Oh Une pOolTooIHb.
I'VE kept cases on the entries and finally
picked out a horse that I will call Yellow
Jacket, though that wasn't the plugs really
and truly name. We figured that Yellow
ia cket would 20 to the post about q 80 to |
shot and a judicious distribution Of our cash
throughout the rooms in different parts OF
the country would put us on plush.
"On the eve Of our killing I %journeyed by
train to a small town not a great distance
from the racetrack. Then ! made for my
base OF operations by a cirouitous route.
The day dawned sultry and warm. Under
the cover of darkness I had placed the little
overlapping clamp in position on the arm
OF u pole right near the tree, and 1t would
take a very close inspection Of the sur.
roundings to detect the fine wires leading to
my retreat in the tree.
The thing was certainly adjusted to q
nicely. I was not to cut the wire until the
operator at the track had finished his de-
scription Of the third race. Our Yellow
ia cket was entered for the fourth race.
After the running Of the third race ! was to
take up the thread Of events and Land Yellow
jacket in front. After the killing ! was to
embark in a rowboat concealed at the foot
Of the willow and get down stream, con-
Meeting with the railway at q place some
distance from the Gene.
"Just about time for the third race to be
run I took a peep at the sky through my
getting dark. The lightning would zip and
flash, followed by thunder crashes. The
wind blew hard enough to churn milkweeds
into buttercups.
Il certainly was in for It up in that vii.
strikes ssss twice tnt y s tSss same same n plaoe. II pt tha.
lightning / witnessed up in that tree ever
struck once there wouldn't be any need
for a second strike. There wouldn't be
any place left. =,
tn .Tf ,s.S vs az. that . e. lightning (, Pl q, < s s5gssa
there wa q binding fash, an upheaval o.
the ground, and I was nearly stunned;
Looking around l saw where lightning had
struck a tree near mine and knocked II
over as II it had been a tenpin. That's
where / lost my nerve.
Uncle Bill l says to myself, rs up
to you to drag your anchor. You'd better
face about and be on the square,
I dropped from the tree into the boat
and had no more than picked up the oars
peal of thunder. I looked around and my
willow tree was chopped of as clean asa
whistle. Then the air came down in
bucketshopfuls. ]. never ceased rowing
TIL got to my landing place. Then
jumped the first train for home.
After the train reached town ! skunk
around trying to get home without being
eeen, but The FIRST man | met was the head
keeper OF OUT bankroll. He slapred me on
the shoulder and said: We'll, Bill, old
chappy, we handed 'em a bakers dozen
Of lemons that time Then he handed roe
a bunch Of bills.
you zee, 1t was this way. That down.
pour Of rain made that track 40 moist that
they'd, ought to have put on coxswains
instead OF Jockeys. Our Yellow Jacket
10 to 1 baby was q sure enough mudlark:
He romped home with the slippery stun
most up to his knees. leaving the favorite
making mud pies around the t~hree-quarter
had cut away my wire tapping apparatus,
lea wing the wire working through, and we
wonswithout any crooked work.