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Show Afraid of a Splurge. One of the slickest games ever worked work-ed by confidence men is that of buying a farm. One of a pair looks over the country until he finds tho man he is after, and he then buys the farm at tho farmer's own price, paying from $50 to $200 down to bind tho bargain. Before the papers can be made out a confederate confed-erate comes along, falls in love with the same farm, and offers the farmer $2,-000 $2,-000 more than the other did. The agriculturist ag-riculturist sees a speculation hero and he buys the first purchaser o(T with a big bonus. Then both men drop out of sight, and the farmer learns something some-thing new. I was stopping over night with a Connecticut farmer, who had sold out and taken $200 to bind the bargain. I was there when the second man called with his tempting offer. He waited at the barn, and Uncle Jerry came in aud said to Aunt Sally: "Seems liko a chance to make a clean thousand dollars. The first buyer buy-er says he'll take a thousand, aid that will leave us the same. "Did we ever have $1,000 all nt once?" she asked. "Never." "Ever have a chance to splurge out and make fools of ourselves?" "No." 'D'ye think wo do it if we had the money?" "Wall, I was thinkin' of a new watch and a broadcloth suit." "And I was thinkin' of a silk dress and a new bonnet. Undo Jerry, we dasn't do it. We'd splurge in less'n twenty-four lours." "Guess we would Aunt Sally, and so I'll sell out to the fust man." He sternly refused tho second offer, and even when $1,000 more was added he was inflexible. The first purchaser never showed up again, and to this day the old couple are holding the money and have the papers ready for the trade. |