BLUFFING' A CROWD.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3063, 21 April 1881, Page 4

BLUFFING' A CROWD.

Soon after dinner the other day seven or eight politicians were smoking and chattering under the Woodward avenue portico of the city hall, when they were joined by a long-haired, mild- looking, long-waisted stranger, who seemed just dead with consumption. He leaned against one of the stone columns and listened to the talk for a few minutes, and exhibited no great interest until some of the party asserted his belief that Garfield would carry Ohio. ' H-how much do you want to b-befc that he will ?' inquired the stranger as he straightened up. [ O, I would not mind a bet of ten dollars.' ' I'll b-bet you one t-thousand dollars against two h-hundred !' continued the stranger, ac he went down into his coat-tail poekefc and fished up an enormous wad of money. The politician crawfished on the ground that he never bet, and the stranger looked around and asked: ' Is there anybody h-liere who w-wants to b-bet that Hancock will be '1-1-lected? I'll b-bet him a t-thousand to five h-hundred. . There wore no takers. ' Then he waved his wad of bills on high and said : c I'll m-make the same bet that Garfield will be defeated ?' The crowd looked afc each other and then across the street, each man a3 dumb as a clam. The silence lasted for a minute, and then one of the group remarked: ' Well it will probably be a tight struggle. , ' W-will it ? ' I'll b-bet you a thousand to five h-hundred that it won't be ! ' promptly replied the stranger. No one spoke for thirty seconds, and then the remark was made that both parties were preparing a great struggle. ' Struggle be d-darned. I bet you five h-hundred to three h-hundred that there won't be any struggle.' One or two men shoved their hands into their pockets and jingled their keys, but it ended right there. When the silence had grown painful, the consumptive asked : 'Do any of you g-gentlemen notice the impediment in my speech ?' ' Yes,' they all replied together. ' J? -put up your m-oney—a % thousand to

two h-hundred that I don't s-s-stutter any of y-you!' exclaimed tho man as ho began to untie the string around his roll of bills. Not a hand moved, and after a minute tho stronger waved his money and said—' Oh I'll b-b-bet y-yf- , .'. : ? .vo h-hundred even up that I d-do s-s-stutter like b-b-blazc;!'

One backed softly into tho hall, followed by a second and a third, and in a minute the stranger was left alone. Then he untied the string, peeled two one dollar bill? off the roll and put them in his pocket, and threw away tho ' core,' which was simply a wad of blank paper. He had bluffed the crowd over and over again on exactly two dollars. —Detroit Free Press.