Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-11-07
HE BEAT SHELL WORKER.
Westerner Who Watched Faker Fleece
Victims Took a Hand Himself and

Victims Took a Hand Himself and
Won Out.
Push Root teemed with strangers
from ranch and mine, wandering joy
ously between drinks in search Of new
games. Through the many sounds,
Aaron's voice held its own. and. reach
ing Bellyful, walked his brooding mind,
which had long forgotten Aaron. Some
games he knew about but this one had
hitherto not been closely studied by
him.
Was the eye always slower than the
hand? Practice makes perfect, but?
With this dawn Of scientific doubt Bel
lyful stood looking at the cluster Of
patrons which screened Aaron where
he shuftied his three walnut shells and
chanted his Remember, gentlemen"
The freighter touched a shell, put
down five cents and won a dollar and
a half.
"Megod!" exclaimed a young Eng
lishman, looking on. He risked a quar-
ter. and lost.
"Aw, now!" he lamented "Good-by,
ALL"
They rallied him, chased him, told
him to come back and be a man; so,
not to shame old England in foreign
country (as he explained), he doubled
his quarter and lost again.
Remember. gentlemen chanted
Aaron, "the hand is quicker than the
eye."
He shuffled the shells straight at the
freighter, as If he were making love
to him. The freighter's eyes bulged;
he dredged from his pocket a sort of
bun Of bills, greasy old rags, touched
them. smoothed them, and at last amid
general laughter, showed them linger-
ingly back into his jeans. But his eyes
seemed unrestful and he mopped his
brow.
She's there" bet British Isles, touch
ing a shell.
Take you," said Aaron.
British Isles put dollar down. The
pea was under the shell. Everybody
saw the $50 paid to British Isles.
Aaron shuffied his shells anew.
Every little while a neighbor dropped
expert wisdom into Bellyfuls ear. "A
bad thing" he whispered, "ever to tahe
your eye off the shells. While that
hayseed freighter was looking at the
sky, just now, the shells had been
changed round. Hard to prove it, too,
even if you thought you saw it. Best
way Of all was, keep your hand on the
shell you bet on. Don't let him move
it and talk, for even II the pea was un-
der 1t he could get it away. He'd new
er let you win If he didn't want you
to. Keep your hand on the she'll"
Him." answered Bellyful.
Here's the real trick" continued the
expert neighbor HE shuffies till he
sees by your eye you've spotted a shell,
by playing awkward. And he claps
down the she'll"
HIN" responded Bellyful again.
mo, hadn't finished" explained
the expert. "Of course the pea is not
under that shell. Where Is 1t? Nest
ling in his little right finger. Some Of
'em Is oth-handed and can work two
peas. So, when you bet, no pea is un-
der any shell. You're bound to lose,
see? And see how he holds his shells
with them two end fingers crooked in
and how he stoops over 'em close to
the edge Of the table now and them"
HIM" unchangeably remarked Bel
lyful.
Yes, but you amt watching" con-
planned the expert. when he scrapes
a shell close to the edge, that's when
the pea is likely to tumble into his IT.
tie finger. I'm going after him ir a
minute"
The expert had gold pieces, plenty of
them, all sizes. He put down $5. 'Tll
pick up" he said, "the two shells the
peas not under"
Take you," said Aaron.
The expert quickly picked up two
shells. But the pea was under one of
them.
You win," said Aaron instantly, and
instantly caught up all three shells and
shuffied them, One hundred and fifty
dollars to the expert, though he really
had lost! See what that means?" he
whispered to Bellyful. He paid me
not to expose him."
Him." replied Bellyful.
WATCH me again." urged the expert.
The expert, with his hand on the
SHE'LL bet all his gold-it made several
stacks.
The pea wasn't beneath the shell!
TOO bad, gentlemen" said Aaron,
gathering promptly all the money and
the shells, and showing everything in
to his pockets. We'll, I told you the
hand was quicker than the eye. Good
BY Better luck next time!" He nod
ded kindly, and was gone.
>"Five hundred and thirty five dol
lars" muttered the expert, hoarsely.
THAT freighter got the pea out when
he scraped that shell down"
There were, all three, laying for you
from the start" said Belyful. He
couldn't stop trembling. Perhaps 1t
was want Of food.
Five hundred and thirty-five dol
lars" walled the expert.
After that, he, too, melted away.
The next day five miles out Of Push
Root the talking Aaron came along,
happy and busy. His head bent over
his shuf1ed shells; the rise and fall of
his cadences grew clearer, the sounds
began to take to themselves syllables;
first hand" and "eye" came out dis
tinct, then the links between filled in,
and the whole sentence rang perfect
the unstirred air.
Remember, gentlemen, the hand Is
quicker than the eye"
Not this morning"
The shells smashed in Aaron's hor-
rified grasp. The little pea rolled to
the ground.
Going to the mines?" pursued Bel
lyful. All his words were sweet and
dreadful.
Then Aaron saw behind the pistol
who 1t was.
That kid road agent" he thought. |
why didn't I spot him yesterday"
And he blamed his own blindness. mis- |
erably and quite unjustly, because how
could he know that Bellyful had only |
become a road agent in the last ten
minutes?
Strip" said Bellyful.
Aaron was slow about 1t.
A flash, a smoke and a hole through |
a haf oil