Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-08-01

some people are about any gambling
game. Come by some roundabout
way"
The victim starts to go to the bank.
He is followed by one Of the "sleuths." "
This Is because the faker is always
haunted by the fear that even fixed
officials might turn crooked" and
that the man might go and complain
to one of them instead of going to the
bank. If the 'sleuth" sees him go
near any of the authorities he rushes
back to the grounds and gives notice.
Then by the time the intended victim
gets back the Joint" has disappeared.
But when the man comes back with
the money and turns 1t over to the IA
ker. along with the sum put up by the
ingenious "capper," the faker sudden
ly discovers that he made mistake In
the winning number and that the man
instead Of winning has lost his money.
Don't know how l ever made such a
mistake" the man says, but you lost
after ALL"
When the "capper" learns that he
has lost his 5000 he weeps like a child.
A good "capper" can become lachry-
NOSE on short Notwithstanding real
tears, too.
A swindle less pretentious but just
as certain was the old tobacco box
game. The "capper' with a friend"
in. tow would observe a seedy looking
man stalking himself to a chew of to-
bacco out a neat little wooden
tobacco box, Gimme chew, friend?''
the "capper" would ask.
Help yourself If you can open that
box" says the obliging stranger with
a grin. That's trick box. Betchuh
you can't open 1t.
But the "capper" seems to be clev-
er at such things and he manages to
open 1t.
The stranger seems surprised. 81
didn't have 1t shut good" he says. "I'll
bet you can't open It again." Where
upon the proprietor of the tobacco box
places a twenty-dollar bill under the
lid. Put up SO, and If you can open
1t you can have the $780," he says.
The "capper" and his friend hesitate
and the man tosses the box back into
his pocket. Jaw, you fellows wouldn't
bet you were alive" he sneers.
"Yes, I'll bet you," speaks up the
"capper." Then in a whisper to his
companion: 1--WE got SIS. Let me have
a flyer and We'll divvy up. know how
to open it." Or perhaps he explains
to him just how he can open 1t.
At any rate, somehow neither one
can open the box this time. There
seems to be some secret lock that baf-
fies detection. You see, when the ia
ker put the box back In his pocket he
switched boxes, and the box he hands
out to the "capper" and his friend car
be opened only with an ak. One day
a man ran away with the box, intend
ing to get out the twenty-dolla bill al
his leisure. OF course when he broke
open the box all he found was q
couple Of splinters. For some reason
or other the public has ceased to stand
this game after a time. In Indiana g
faker served time in the penitentiary
for working the tobacco box trick
one Of the comparatively few fakers
ever sent up.
Then there are roulette and the
"beehive." The circus faker welcomes
men who broke the bank at Monte
Carlo. men with systems" and all
others at this roulette wheel. For he
doesn't depend merely on the per
centage in favor of the house" for his
winnings. By means Of an invisible
needle which he can raise in any one
of the numbered receptacles he Is able
to prevent the little ball from rolling
down on the number being played to
win.
The same scheme Is worked in the
beehive" an arrangement Of wire
shaped like a beehive. A little ball
rolls down, humping against nails in
it's path, until finally 1t alights over
some number-which. however, owing
to the faker's invisible needle, is the
lucky number only when the "capper'
Is playing If the "capper" were per-
mitted to keep half of his winnings In
the course Of a good day he would not
long be content to work at his job for
$40 a week.
The old-fashioned dial with num-
bers around the edge and big pointer
to spin has come to be an ingenious
electrical and mechanical. device. The
faker uses silver dollars for chips and
stands nonchalantly by clinking a neat
little smoke-stack Of the negotiable
silver disks on the table. And the
weight of the dollars over a certain
spot on the table determines the num-
ber at which the pointer shall stop. All
the faker has to do Is to take note of
the number Of dollars in his pile and
he can halt the pointer where he wills.
The envelope game Is that In which
one takes his choice of row Of seal
ed envelopes some of which are repu-
ted to contain negotiable green paper.
Sometimes the faker places the money
in the envelopes and sometimes one
imagines that he can see the end Of a
bill protruding from the end Of an en-
velope. But the disbursements to the
players from this game have seldom
reached more than the sum Of a zero
mark multiplied by cipher.
In the fishing game one reaches for
paper fish. some having lucky num-
bers hidden in their tails, the man
says But the sucker in this game al
ways is caught at the pole end of the
line.