THE BITER BIT.

Evening Star, Issue 4108, 27 April 1876, Page 3

THE BITER BIT.

Doubtless two fast—very fast- Colonial youths will recognise to whom the Ballarat correspondent of the ‘ Argus ’ refers in the following paragraph. How very galling it must be to their feelings :—“ A tolerably good story is told in connection with the champion swimming match at Geelong. Two of the ‘ ring ’ in Geelong, who wish never to lose a chance of easing the public of a few pounds where a bet is to be laid, wrote up to an equally cute wager-layer here to know if it would be possible to get Mr Wynne’s time, and the reply was that it would be quite possible, and that the local person applied to would be only too glad to assist them on condition that he was allowed to be in the swim. The friend at this end having advised the two at the Geelong end of the days on which Mr Wynne took his trial swims—which days by the way were wrongly stated, as distinguished from his regular swimming exercises—the pair came up to tout. One was to stand behind a door without the swimming enclosure and take time, the other was to be within the enclosure and proclaim the start and finish by one and two knocks respectively on the door, behind which stood the timer. As Mr Wynne was not on time trial that day, the two Geelong betting men were satisfied, believing that Steedman couldbeat him easily; and, as in honor bound, they communicated the result and their opinions to their obliging Ballarat friend, who seemed very grateful for being let into the secret. On the day of the swim, however, the Ballarat man took all the odds he could get against Wynne, who won the match, up to 2 to 1, and pocketed a very fair sura of money, whilst his two knowing friends lost all they had.