The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1909-08-17
THE CRATER AND HIS PREY.
A Frank Talk on Sure Things in
the Far West.-'Camel Backs
and Other Games.

{
, traveller with whom he had cot chum-
my on q Union Pacific train coming
East.
He was dressed fit TO kill and with
his lilac gloves was a sight for the
prairie dogs He had just breezed in.
he said. from Frisco and after drop
ping about two hundred to the swell
tailorS for an outfit was on the trail
to see old pals in Chicago. He got
confidential when the train struck the
race track Of the Union Pacific, that
is to say from North Platte this way
for a thousand miles or so, with a
drop Of seven feet to the mile, and
little for the engineer to do but hold
her back as he whirled on with l25
miles or 50 between water tanks.
"Flat joints are always good for
killing; said he. with an air Of 4
Boston man. refined. alert, keen for
good language: a Boston man buc-
caneering in the mining camps and
thereabouts. None Of Your "does'
and "dose" and Bowery "dems'' in
his dialogue, but good enough Eng
lish from the Hub.
"What the mischief is there in the
life for man Of your education and
refinement. asked the tourist.
He was, he frankly admitted. SIM
ply scalping the West to make his
bundle and light out. See the point?
But it was a rough. hard life, he con-
ceded. and he hated it from the heart,
but nerved himself to 60 through it.,
for the dough. the easy dough. which
he needed just like anybody else.
Then he went on with his story.
event down one day." he began,
"to a. place in Utah. Had a camel
back with a squeeze on it. a sure out
fit to take the money from the bubes.
"The squeeze which throws the
spindle where YOU wish works from
under the table. \ camel back Is
about three feet long and is Oh a table
ten feet long. around which the bubes
gather to give me their money III hope
cf winning their everlasting fortunes
from the peck Of coin that jingle IN
plain sight Of their hungry eyes. Ut
course at the right time the squeeze
will stop the spindle anywhere l wish
"On the table is a circle and on
some ysp;Aes are five boxes and three
boxes and so on, and in another space
is DU and in another JP. The mean
inc of DU is simply this: If a bube
puts down two bits the booster on
the end who works the squeeze stops
it on the DU and the next time 1t
costs the player half dollar to keep
his interest alive, but it forces me,
the house, to put dollar where the
bube can see. tell him, Should this
spindle stop on 5 this time or on ? or
8 YOU get double the amount, accord
ING to the numbers. Savvy?
"The trouble with spindle and
squeeze outfit is to get it in a place
where you can work it, but this time
I happened to be in such place. Here
everything geos if you square your
self with the right men of the town
on percentage basis.
Are you on? I paid a certain
party fifty bones for the privilege OF
working on the fair grounds and ne
tipped the wink to the chief of police
TO give me plenty of time to light out
in case Of trouble. So far, good.
"On this day I took in eight or ten
bubes for various amounts from 500
to $50 and was feeling pretty good
when mp came a fellow Shorty, who
ran restaurant, and ne said, what
have You got there?'
"There ain no police around here
at this moment?' I said, peeking sus-
pisciouslv around. and at the same
time We were under the protection of
the police. I knew that would get
Mister Man going. Under my breath l
whispered:
" Kindly step over close and I
will put You wise
II went on and explained it to
him., and he said, BY Gee, I'll try
it for two bits
ITO make a long story short, l
doubled him for 25 cents to SIG, and
if YOU take out your pencil and figure
it that means he loses for a quarter,
then for a half, then for dollar,
then for two, then for four, next for
eight and then for sixteen, or S3l.13.
while Won draw few breaths. If he
1. 1oe 20