THE THREE-CARD MONTE CARLO SHARP MISTAKES HIS MAN.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 3037, 2 January 1892, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE THREE-CARD MONTE CARLO SHARP MISTAKES HIS MAN.

friE performance in Forepausrh's big cir« cum lent hitd just, ended. Within the sideshow tents the hand organs sat np their loudest and livliest music, and the loud voiced fakir on the outsido redoubled his oratorical exertions as tho groat crowd surges past his grand aggregation of wonders. At the southern end of the lake front, away from the noise and burlyburloy of the bin show sat two tired looking individual*!, whose very appearance indicated that they hud left their work upon the farm to enjoy a day with Forppaugh, and hadjdone it so thoroughly that thov were half dead with fatigue. A three-card MontoCarlosharp's eagle eye caught tho rustics, and he swooped down upon his prey like a young rooster fiftor a potato-bug "Prutty hoi, isn't it?" ho began, "Yon h.iven't seen a man aronnd here, have you, with a loug whito linen diuter on, tall whito hat, and plaid suit ? No ? Well I'm lookiDg for him. Friend of nvno. Left me about an hour ago. He is going to have some fellows arrested down then; in one of tho little teuts. Darned fool, I toll him. You see lie was swindled by a coudlc of men—what is it three card men— what is it ? Oh, yes : three-ciird Monte Carlo, Taken into camp just as slick as grease. Lost :i couple of hnndred on it in less than a minute. Robbery—nothing else—but a man's a blamed fool to set his money on another feller's game. Servo him right, I say." "Cleaned him out. eh?" drawled one of the rustics. " Well, tho game is ,is old as tho hills, and a feller who hasn't more souse than to try it ought to bo turned out to pasture for u while." " Looks simplo enough," continued the fukir. " I saw tho whole tiling. Of course, I wouldn't bet—not a cent—but blamed if I wouldn't have put my money just where my friend did. Darned sharp, thoso show friends-sleight-of-hand trick, I nuess They mix up the cards soma wav whon they throw them down. That is the only explanation of it. I can give. The fa.mors laughed. " Woll, you've gunssed it," said one of them after a hearty bu»t of merriment. 'Oh, laugh away—seems funny enough now; but it isn't so darned funny to tho pnor fool who loses his money. It isn't an easy tlrng to do, let mo tell you. I can't throw the nards just as those fellows did, but they took three cards, just like this, and thro *■ them down, like that, and then bet that my friend couldn't pick out the queen." " Straight three-card raonte, as s.ire as you aro born," eaid one of the rural visitors. "I've rend all about it a hundred times. Never saw the thing done though. 1 ' " Well, this is all there is to it—the show-man did nothing more than this, See ? Simplo enough ain't it ?" " Why, I should say so I I don't see how your friend lost hie money."

"He picked out the wrong card that's all."

" Couldn't have been watching very sharp, I guess." " Well, don't you fool yourself! It isn't such an easy trick to pick out tho right card. Do you think you can do it. ?"

" I could if the other fellow didn't do better than you do '' •' Bet vou a quarter you onn't; pick ont tho. queon—juat as the cards Hβ n.nv." For nn answer the. farmer turned over ono of r,ho curds, showing tho sniling faeo of tho queon. " Well, by jinsfo, you did it the first timo. There's your money. Now then, watch tho cmrd.H closoly. There ! Pick out the queen. I'll het you a dollar you can't do it. Or .'<dols., or lOdols., or 2.1dn15., or lOOdoh." "Well, put up your money if you want to walk home with your foolinh friend. I've just IGOdols left, and it's going to -win lOOdols more for mo right here and now."

A moment later one of the grangers held in his hand 200dol while the other bent over the cards preparatory to piaking out tho royal winner. " Hurry up ! Locate the queen, and the money's yours; if not, it's mine," And the professional hungrily eyed the stakes But bin victim was inclined to move rather leisurely. " Let's see," he said meditatively. " You stood here just like this, and you held tbrce curds in your hand like this, with the qneen on top. Then you gave your hand a swing like this, and—" Well ?" " Palmed the queen, dropped the ninespot in its ulaco, an 1 shoved the queen up your right coat-sleevo, where it is now. A Very bud job, too, partner, because its dead crooked, and so easy that any schoolboy might catch you dead to rights "and shoot you full of holes before you oould square yourself. " I shall always remember _ kh3 last tiwe I worked that lay myself," he continued as he stowed away the roll of bills. "It was in the summer of 1886. I was doing outside work with Baruum's show that season, and when we struck Louisville I caujrht a sleepy young fellow with more money than brains, and tried to ' switch-' on him—just as you do it, precisely. I had not finished the experiment before I made a rather startling discovery —I fouud that my left lung was iuhahng air through a larire bole near my fifth rib. For tho next two seasons I did not take an interest in the circus buaiuees, But I eventually took to ttie-Jroad again, and I have been with Sells Brothers ever siuce—up to :» week ago—whon Joo and I came hoie to wait for Foropnugh. How are they coming nowadays, partner ?"