Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-09-07
Che Story Tsllsr.
THE CRATER
AND HIS PREY.
A Frank Talk of Sure Things In
the Far West.

bundle. This is confided to a fellow
traveller with whom he had got chum
my on a Union Pacific train coming
east.
| He was dressed fit to kill and will
| his lilac gloves was sight for TIT
prairie dogs. He had just breezed in
he said, from Frisco and after drop.
ping at nut 5000 to the swell tailors fol
an outfit was on the trail to see ole
pals in Chicago. He got confidentia
when the train struck the race track
of the Union Pacific, that Is 20 say
from North Platte this way for
thousand miles or so, with a drop OF
seven feet to the mile, and little fol
the engineer to do but hold her back
as he whirled on with 125 miles or sc
between water tanks.
Flat joints are always good for a
killing" said he, with an air Of Bos-
ton man, refined, alert, keen for good
language; a Boston man buccaneering
in the mining camps and thereabouts
None of your "does" and dose" and
Bowery "dems" in his dialogue, but
good enough English from the Hub.
What the mischief is there in the
life for a man of your education and
refinement?" asked the tourist.
He was, he frankly admitted, simply
scalping the west to make his bundle
and light out. See the point? But 1t
was a rough, hard life, he conceded
and he hated it from the heart, but
nerved himself to go through it, for
the dough, the easy dough, which he
needed just like anybody else. Then
he went on with his story.
Went down one day." he began, ito
a place in Utah. Had a camel back
with a squeeze on it, sure outfit to
take the money from the bubes.
"The squeeze which throws the
spindle where you wish works from
under the table. A camel back is
about three feet long and is on table
ten feet long, around which the bubes
gather to give me their money in hope
of winning their everlasting fortunes
from the peck Of coin that I jingle in
plain sight Of their hungry eyes. OF
course at the right time the squeeze
will stop the spindle anywhere wish.
ION the table is circle and on
some spaces are five boxes and three
boxes and so on, and in another space
is DU and in another JP. The mean
ing of DU is simply this: If bube
puts down two bits the booster at the
end who works the squeeze stops 1t on
the DU and the next time it costs the
player half a dollar to keep his inter-
est alive, but it forces me, the house,
to put a dollar where the bube can
see. l tell him, Should this spindle
stop on this time or on or you get
double the amount, according to the
numbers" Savvy?
1.-The trouble with a spindle and
squeeze outfit is to get 1t in a place
where you can work it, but this time
happened to be in such a place.
Here everything goes if you square
yourself with the right men Of the
town on a percentage basis.
Are you on? 1 paid a certain par
ty fifty bones for the privilege Of
working on the fair grounds and he
tipped the wink to the chief Of police
to give me plenty Of time to light out
in case Of trouble. So far, good.
ION this day I took in eight or ten
bubes for various amounts from $40
to $50 and was feeling pretty good,
when up came a fellow Shorty, who
ran a restaurant, and he said, What
have you got here?'
There amt no police around here
at this moment said, peeking sus-
piciously around, and at the same time
we were under the protection Of the
police. knew that would get Mr..
Man going. Under my breath / wnis-
pered:
kindly step over close and 1 will
put you wise
II went on and explained 1t to him,
and he said, BY Gee, I'll try it for two
bits
ITO make a long story short.
doubled him for 25 cents to SIC, and
if you take out your pencil and figure
it that means he loses for quarter,
then for a half, then for dollar, then
for two, then for four, next for eight,
and then for sixteen, or $31.75, while
you draw a few breaths. If he keeps
on doubling every loss to keep his in
terest good, it doesn't take long to get
good fat money, and two or three
such players means 5000 to $500 an
hour or so, or even If you get only
one who loses for $3.50 you can close
up for the day. Savvy? Oh, it's a
snug thing, these fiat joints.
LAS was saying, l got Shorty
where he was in for something like
s32. say right here, by the by, that
there may be no mistake, 1 never al
a single dollar. All the bets won on
my camel back are won by my own
boosters, and as the bube has the
pleasure Of seeing them win 1t whets
his appetite for more.
I'm Shorty's case the booster now
stopped the squeeze on JP. So turn
round to him and said:
"'Now see here, you understand OF
course how to play the American game
Of poker? You win this time, but as
a condition and bet that just forces
me to put down $64 and it will cost
you s32 more if you wish to stay
Should you win, you win it all
He looked at me, red in the face
and started to perspire. BY George
amt got that much with me. Will
you wait ten minutes while l go down
town to get it?'
Il said: oh, no, neighbor; the only
percentage 1 have is to freeze a man
out; I'm telling you this squarely
Had you enough in your pocket to stay
you are bound to beat me-
Just then my booster speaks w
and says, Say, mister, can I take his
chance?'