The Clio messenger., 1915-10-01

| Il JOB where L could get easy money.
Easy money! That was the lure 1t
brings smile to my face now, that
thought of easy money. 1t brings a
! smile of bitter recollection when l
come in from a nineteen-hour days
work, ready to drop from sheer ex-
haustion, hands and face bleeding
from fighting the floodgates shut, and
battling against the raging water and
wind and sleet, earning the only easy
money had ever had.
The circus came. didn't steal
away this time. / told old Simeon
that I was going, and I stood him OF
with a pitchfork as he came at me
with his blacksnake whip. / didn't
intend to come back.
The shell-game was the center of
the biggest crowd, and edged in, my
forty-four dollars tightly clutched in
my trousers pocket. The game / in
tended to play is old now, but it was
original with me then. / think I'm
the first man that ever put 1t over.
There was lulu The suckers"
were wary and the "cappers" were
unable to arouse any enthusiasm. AZ
I edged to the front rank before the
table the shell.man spied me.
"Take a chance, sonny" he hailed.
'Let you in for dollar, Easy mon
ey for wise one like you."
was just the ignorant country lout,
playing my game. I pulled out my
roll of dirty bills. 81 bet We forty
four dollars l kin pick it," boasted.
I knew l could play but once.
Its Coal-Oil Johnny in disguise,"
he grinned. "Ill give him a real
sports chance. Here's five-X against
It; fifty to forty-four"
He put the money on mine and be-
gan to move the shells, talking every
minute and eyeing me shrewdly all
the while.
"Now pick the little pellet" he in
vited "Pick the little pea and buy r
farm with the money. II may be un-
der number one, it's likely to be in
number two, and probably number
three is hiding It, One guess, one
fifty"
got closer to the little table,
squirting down at the three shells
with loutish wisdom Suddenly i put
out my hand and covered the middle
shell.
"It's under this one" said.
Remove the cover, lift the she'll"
he urged. Uncover the elusive,
fifty-dollar pea"
Instead, my hand went out quick as
flash, turned over the one on the
left, switched over and lifted the one
on the right before he could make a
move. Then lifted my hand from
| the middle shell.
eff it amt under them two 1t must
be under the one I had my hand on"
grinned, and there was just bit OF
wink in my eye.
II took him only second to decide.
The crowd was all around him. 1t
had lost some money. and It would
probably lose more. But II the watch
ing men discovered that there had
been no pea under any OF the shells
when they had bet the gamblers life
would be just about worth the speed
! OF his legs. Nothing more.
"You win," he grinned, showing
the money toward me and lifting the
shell to show the pea his little finger
had flirted under 1t at the instant OF
| moving.
leaned over the folding-board.
"Job?" I whispered out OF the corner
of my mouth.
"Plug hat, diamonds" he grunted
in the instant before he again raised
his voice in its invitation 10 the wait.
ing farmers. slid out OF the crowd
to look for the man who wore a plug
hat and diamonds.
Near the entrance OF the one-ring
top found him, told him that I want
ed job and about the slick game
had just played on one Of his men.
He looked me over a minute with
his blank gray eyes that never showed
an emotion, or thought, or light of any
kind, pulled cigar from his pocket,
handed 1t to me, and bit the end OF
another.
1Ou Cdu Gap lol thC
table," he said finally. Learn II and
I'll put you on. Slides been getting
drunk too often lately. I'm going to
have him pinched for murder soon as
I get somebody else. Go to 1t and
keep away from the booze, or you'll
get the same road some day"
RE nodded his head jerlkily, turned
on his heel, and went inside the main
top. That was my first meeting with
Mike Garvin, the greatest con man Of
them all; the man whose boot-licking
cur I became; the man who had nei
ther heart nor soul: who fastened
murder on me and took my all, bu.
gave me the two greatest things God
can give: love and the woman.
In two weeks I mastered the