The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1911-10-14
(Texas Marazine.)

"Aw. you ptkers gimme a pain in
the neck" Thus "aBtty' Logan.
Blazing in a red sweater, with a
close fitting cap hung over one aye
he impartially addressed the surging.
swaying payline. keep yer shirts on.
will yer? You'll get yer coin all right,
all right. You Willie Boys win six
dollars an think you've got iPttsburg
Phil lookin' like a shine. an II yer
lose yer set up a roar that'll make
Niagara falls sound like a whisper.
Back up there!"
DANGEROUSLY. insistently the crowd
beat against him. He was standing
back of the Exeter club book at Mon
tauk track. money-bag bullying with
race Of the day had been run: five
favorites had won., Every bookmak-
er down the line had been hard hit
1T was the public's day and the
public. having had it's day. was anx-
tous to get hom-The pay-line was
shutting. jostling. pushing, disputing
for precedence, excitedly recounting
the last race. superlatively c%ongratu-
lating itself in its wi wisdom. Bat
bank not, checking, paying and-
swearing.
Frank Carter. the plunger. owner
Of the Exeter club book, standing be-
side '"Batty" smiled family.
Have you got enough?" he asked.
May be q couple O. hundred shy"
at the decreasing bundle Of green
backs. AN gee! JUS a minute ago
that roll was SO big a horse couldn't
jump over 1t. Never mind, iBll," he
continued consolingly to the pdung-
or. tomorrow's handicap day an
we'll take the loose pickin's home in
q whizs-wagon. Everybody Knows
whit horses are goin' to win on handi-
cap days-until it's over"
Gradually the pay-line faded away,
each man making :. a sprint for the
train as soon as he got his winnings.
At last. in my turn, ! came face to
face with "aBtty."
Why. hello. Beau" he grinned.
chserful!y: Jus. piekin' up some
Just a little bit-couple Of hun
stand over there til I anish." he
said. without ocering to pay me.
"Lemme get rid O. this cluster o. two
dollar Riley Grannons an IL talk to
YER" He turned to Carter. BOSS.
friend o. mine"
That vas my introduction Of Frank
Carter. the noted plunger. a %nerveless
o4AlVStO1l4000 IuOASl0O0l, WHO oct InOu.
sands where I bet dimes. winning or
losing without enthusiasm or dfsap-
pointment: q nan whose turf win
nings on a single day had run to
nearly $1,000 10 whose trivial opinion
had eliminated form, crushed the
books beneath a flood Of clinking
gold, thrown the big betting ring in
to a frenzied panic-a screaming.
squtrming. mad-eyed panic-and had
left it gasping. nerveless-and mon
eyless. He bet tens Of thousands with
the nod Of his head. the raising Of a
finger. He was one OF the solid men
of the racing game. His mere word,
without the scratch Of a pen, was
good for $4,000. or two hundred
thousand. Once he had been a print
ers' devil"
Thoughtfully I fell to watching
"Batty:" Only two men remained to
be paid. AS "Batty" emptied the
money bag to pay the first of these
he grinned.
That's the last Of thirty-hve thou
sand you wise boys have took from
US today" he said. The man looked
surprised. pocketed his winnings and
ran for the train. AN I owe you a
couple of hundred. BILL" said "Batty''
to me. IF they amt nothin' dom
tonight drop by the Metropole and
we'll catch a Welsh rabbit. I'll give
yer the two hundred then"
Certainly" I replied. Here was a
new experience-Tho greatest plung-