Los Angeles herald., 1907-01-27

park, and It was the toughest game that
ever we'd been against. Our colt Bene-
diction could have run rings around
Ianything among those outlaw skates II
he'd only been right, but coming up
from New Orleans Ben got cold, and
what with the fever that resulted there
was nothing to it but to keep him in a
| stall and mix up hot mashes for his
meals.
! Old Joe Bates, our badge" horse,
kept us going Joe was a stake horse
among n lot of broken down hounds,
with no particular ancestry, such as
raced at the park, and when we sent
him out for the coin he'd nearly always
bring It home. Joe was pretty good at
the feed box, and what with couple OF
smokes to pay and three squares a day
for Louisville and me IL kept us on the
hike to grab piece of money.
The association owned the books, and
If you tried to bet a double sawbuck
all at once in any of 'em they'd take
half of It and rub. That's the sort of
sports they were.
Wants to "BIow"
Buck" said Louisville one day as
we looked the colt over at the stable,
wed better blow this gig and twenty
three. I'd come pretty near takin' it on
the brake beams for mine. This Is sure
one awful burg right now"
We had a long talk about it and then
went over to the races. 1t was showing
but the grand stand held it's usual
number Of frowsy women and worse
looking males. "If you hadn't tried to
beat the bank quite 50 often in New
Orleans we'd have coin in our kicks
now," said Louisville grouchily, but
here we are, outlaws, and no place to
go but the Texas bushes, and they don't
begin racin' there till summer"
l guess he had roar coming to him
at that. It's fact that 1 had strong
fancy for playing bank, and because of
1t we were lighter than a kids kite
when we hit ST. Louis.
Enters Joe in Half Mile
WELL beefin' about it don't dig grub
money" l remarked. I'D put Joe in
that half mile Saturday, If I had en-
trance money. He needs plates, and the
horseshoer don't seem to be crazy about
our getting into him any stronger. I'm
going to town and hook my benny"
mo, you amt" he interrupted. "I'll
line some guy up for bet today or
stick knife into him. l guess 1 air't
so delicate that I can't shoot the old
bull If got to. But you don't do any OF
tnat SOaKln tnlnS, see! IneSe DreeZcS
are a little too COOL"
1t was cold enough as he observed.
The track was frozen hard and a damp
wind from the Mississippi shrieked
around the corners and whipped the
blood to ones face. 1 never did like
to go broke in winter And it was dog
eat dog around that half mile merry
go-round. A man wouldn't give a guy
a kind smile unless he got handed.
Braces Restaurant Owner
got along to the fourth race, colder
every minute, and us down to cases,
with the feed boxes empty over at the
stable. When that chill blue gray twi-
light fell began thinking about a big
steak and the scenery to go with 1t un-
til 1 couldn't stand 1t any longer.
Pm going in and brace this restau-
rant chap. I told Louisville we've just
got to eat.'
'Then lemme do it," he replied, g
can shoot it stronger than you, and he!
more liable to fall If 1 hum in his ear
We got the meal, and as we hadn',
INDUCED in anything excepting bologna
sausage and cheese from a Dutch
saloons lunch during the day it GER
tainly looked good to us. Thinking II
over we never remembered to go back
and hand, him the price of it. either.
That was q way we had in those days.
We batted around downtown that
night. 1 found a souse in the bar OF
i the Planters who had a yen to play
the bank, and he had the hard men in
his jeans to back 1t.
There was a place up on Olive street
where you could get any sort of game,
so stored him over there. Talk about
luck 1t always breaks badly when
you're playing close to the cushion,
don't it? He staked me to play.
Pinches Ten Spot
I guess I dubbed away three hundred
for him, and I couldn't win bet, but
did pinch out a couple of five dollar
chips, which I cashed when he'd grown
tired of seeing the house get it all. I
! tried to declare myself In with the
house on the losing, but they were wise
fish and couldn't see it.
We walked along Broadway about
midnight. THE way feel" remarked
Louisville, "I could stick some guy up
and croak him If he set up a squall."
I'd been thinking about the same
thing myself. But he didn't go that
far. We were ten strong, and while
to a pair of our expensive tastes 1T
didn't look exactly like house and lot,
we could feed on It for several days
by observing caution.
| The storm had ceased while we were
in the gambling house. call this
town south, do they?" growled Louis
vile. "It's colder here than Canada. I
followed the trots on the ice up there
one winter. There's tough game, all
right Let's go tear into the middle
of our haystack and forget we're alive"
Gathers in Small Roll
I made a couple of two-dollar bets
next day and won them. At the end
of a day had a grafters roll, with a
twenty for a wrapper and a bunch of
aces inside. / entered Joe Bates for
the half-mile handicap on Saturday
and then searched out a jock to ride
him.
A boy named Hughey Denny was
winning q lot of races around there
and I told his valet I'd want Hughey
for Saturday. He came out of the scale
room carrying his tack as we talked,
so I spoke to him.
Hes bleeder. amt he?" asked
Denny IT thought he broke down in
his last race"
Hes as right as you are" said I,
'and I'll slip a ticket in your boot,
jock. Use your hands and don't touch
| him with the bat unless Won have to "