The Oroville weekly gazette. [volume] (Oroville, Wash.) 1905-19??, 1914-11-13

tent shone out like search light, {
race between Smith and Delfield, will
the snug little bet of $1,000 side, jus,
for the excitement of the thing, wal
arranged. The hour fixed for the ex'
hibition of speed was IL o'clock Sat.
urday in order to permit the Bridge
port visitors to get home the same
night with the sack. 1,
That the race was to take place was
not generally known, and hence the
crowd present was not so large as II
would have been had there been pub
licity connected with the negotiations
Still the appearance of the runners,
and the assembly of few in the
secret on the ground drew a good
many people to the scene. The race
took place on Railroad avenue, near
the depot. Jack Vader, an accom-
modating gentleman who engineers an
auto between Oroville and Penticton,
was induced to act as starter. The
gladiators, in abbreviated garments,
regulation spiked slippers and grin
OF determination danced and fiddled
over the course few times, as is
customery, before toeing the scratch.
Smith was given the Is foot start.
When all present were keyed up to
the proper tension and intense excit-
ment on the part of those who had
risked their simoleors on the outcome
Cor you never can tell in a foot race
just who is to get the gaff), the pistol
barked sharply and the race was on.
1t is said by those present that Smith
had lead of at least 25 feet when Del
field got away. Be that as it may
Smith ran his very best, surprising
even himself, and instead of falling
down, as the cards were stacked, ran
it out, leaving the Bridgeport contin-
gent in the soup. To all appearances
Delfield did his best, but his best was
not good enough to save the Bridge
port bacon.
1t does not take long to trot over a
100 yard course, hence the agony came
quick to the losers. They were so
dazed by the result that it required
some time for them to pull themselves
together and realize they were the
victims of a kick back. 1t makes
good deal of difference at tines whose
bull is gored, and forgetting the pleas
ant little surprise they thought they
had in store for Oroville, and peeved
at having the tables turned, they let
out squawk that was really heart
rending. With murder in their heart
search was at once made for Smith,
who had mysteriously and discreetly
disappeared from the face of the
earth and his whereabouts still re-
mains unknown. Then complaint was
made to the authorities. Nothing
could be done, as the principals had
evaporated. The Bridgeport game
sters had to have some kind of sooth-
ing syrup and therefore Vader, the
starter, was arrested for firing pistol
within the town limits without a per-
init, and placed under $25 bond. He
will not probably hang for that, yet
nothing short of banging will COM
mence to compensate the Bridgeport
bunch for the way it was put over on
them. AS there were no indications
that the winners of the tainted money
intended to return it, and as Smith re-
fused to show up and be killed, the
humbled Bridgeport visitors returned
home wiser as well as poorer for their
experience. Very little sympathy can
be felt when a jobber is jobbed, but
the affair would have been more
amusing had it happened somewhere
else than in this place.
Moral-The man who will trust
foot racer deserves to be skinned