Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-31


a pencil tucked behind his ear.
BET you one on Garth's horse, Dan, he
said to the layer.
you're on" said the bookmaker, turning
to his sheetwriter and mentioning the name
of a well-known New York plunger for
whom the perspiring individual was acting
as commissioner.
billy dressed. who had been jostled out OF
the commissioners path and who had
watched this incident, Immediately thrust
two one dollar bills almost into the bookies
face.
.'Gimme two on that horse of Garth's,
too" he said to the layer.
Say" fiercely exclaimed the chalker,
at the little man, didn't you Just hear me
say that 1 wasn't takin' nothin' lower than
fives?"
whats the matter with your angrily
retorted the shabby little man, regaining
possession of his 50. Didn't just see you
take one from that plumbery-looking duck
with the pinke-winkie shirt?'
Then the layer broke into a laugh.
"One!" he said, still laughing. Why,
you catfish, that was one-thousand-d dollar
bet he made. Run off and roll your hoop"
The shabby little man looked sheepish,
ahmed his two One-spots into trousers
pocket, and shufied down the line of
layers.
How a Price Was Made.
About a dozen eager-looking men, all of
them bearing the indefinihe stamp of
track regulars. were tagging after and
treading upon the heels of veteran ring
commissioner a man engaged in getting the
money down for one of the biggest opera
tors who opens his season at Benning.
When the commissioner forced his way up
to the stands of the layers the chaps who
wanted to get line on the operations of
the commissioners principal as guide for
their own betting formed flying wedges and
kept right behind him.
The commissioner was making $50 bets
&I1 1fna ~ hot
When he had nearly completed his tour he
turned scornfully upon the fellows who still
tagged after him and talked at them out
of the southwestern corner of his facial
orifice.
Say" he said, IVY don't youse mugs stay
home an play marbles an bean-bag wit
yrselves an let peepul what's got business
here alone? Beat it VILE y'r SHOES is good!
now on is goin' t git swif dig In tn
chops fr his. an don't care If he is twelve
foot high. Blow, now, all O. youse:'
Thus ad1ured the commissioners followers
fell away from him without saying any
thing They imagined that they had found
out what the commissioner principal was
playing in the race. anyhow, and they dis
persed to get down their piking bets on the
plungers selection and to spread the news
Of the plunger's choice as manifested by the
operations of his commissioner.
They had no sooner dispersed, however.
than the commissioner began another tour
of the bookies' eccentric line. He made the
rounds this time to bet $500 at clip on the
favorite in the race, chalked up at Ii to 8.
His operations In the $50 amounts had been
only for blind. to make price. as the
operation is called, against the faVorlte.
The favorite walked in.
ITS hard to put salt on the tail Of any
old thing in this mans game" was the
moan of one Of the commissioner followers
when the favorite came streeling home all
"The Tallest Pole"
Out on the concrete lawn" in front OF
the grand stand there were occasional cats
paws of wind that caused men standing
there to clutch at their hats. A young fellow
who was counting his money on the con-
crete close to the betting ring dropped
SO bill from his bundle.
little whirlwind picked up the bill and
carried 1t into the air. number of sharp
eyed newsboys and gum sellers and a few
black stable hands who had been standing
near the young fellow when he dropped the
bill and were nudging up to grab it when
the loser turned his back broke into a shout
when the bill flew high into the air. The
scurry of wind took the $40 note almost as
high as the roof of the stand. and then the
bill began to descend slowly and in eccentric
curves.
A hundred hands were wildly elevated to
grab the bill when it came down within
reaching distance. A very tall black man.
deliberately rugged out, strolled up to the
edge of the sQuirming crowd just as the bill
got within reach, and, calmly raising his
hand, he annexed the f1uttering bill between
his index and middle fingers and tucked 1t
into his waistcoat pocket with a broad
grin The outcry raised against him by
the disappointed ones was long and loud.
Where did dat seven-foot dlnge butt In
rr de sawbuckr' they lamented, but the
elongated person strolled grandly away, Sc
cure in his possession of the bill.
Exposed.
A very voluble little man with a stubby
gray mustache was loudly declaiming that
the bookmakers were in a combination to
do him out of $500. He swore to every
body that he slammed into that all of the
bookmakers on and OF the line, had pur-
posely moved their locations. right between
races, to prevent him from collecting
5000 chunk-he had bet $500 on the thing
that had Just COPIED at to ], he said.
After q very long search, during which he
aired his grievances loudly, so that every
body in the ring must have heard him at
some stage of It, he finally Identified the
LAYER with whom he had had the betting
Transaction Then he skunk into the cash
ier's line behind the bookmaker.
ssIIow much7" inquired the cashier, pen
Cling a ring around the bet on the sheet OF
the voluble little man.
Three dollars almost whispered the
noisy little man, glancing nervoasly around
TO see whether any of those to whom ne
had made his complaint about the $500
transaction were within sight or hearing
Hey speak up-how much?" demanded
the cashier, who himself had heard the gar