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Show LOSES MONEY ON A FAKE MCE Charles Houser, 35 years of age, a farmer from British Columbia, appeared ap-peared at pollco headquarters yesterday yester-day and told a story of a broken Christmas promise. Houser exonerates exoner-ates Kris Kriugle, but blames two acquaintances whom he last saw in Portland, Or., two weeks ago. The three were to have had a Christmas tree in the room of Houser at the Hotel Ho-tel Utah Came Christmas without the tree and Houser grew suspicious of tho good faith of his friends and began to wonder if the $1,000 which he says he lost in their company while betting on horse races in a pool room in Portland had not been euchered from him by clever crooks. Caches $1,000 Check. Houser tolls of meeting two men who were professional followers of the racing game. They showed him the usual collection of newspaper clippings clip-pings giving accounts of fortunes won by plungers. They also told him that they could help him to such a winning. win-ning. Houser went with them to a secret pool room where only one could enter at a time. Houser gave one of the men $1,000 to bet Soon he came back and reported a winning of 10,-000. 10,-000. Houser had given his check for the money and was told that before he could collect the $10,000 ho would have to cash his own check and bring the money to prove that the winning had been legitimate. He did so, but the man that took Ilouser's money to the pool room got the latter's consent to place all the money on a horse that was sure to win, according to the information in-formation furnished by 'T.he second man, who was supposed to be In secret se-cret touch with the telegraph lines. "Bets" Ten Thousand. The "bet" was made, the horse being be-ing played for first money. He lost. Then the man who gave the tip flew at the man who placed the bet and struck him and swore at him for a fool for misunderstanding the tip, saying say-ing that the horse should have been played to show. Finally peace was made, pockets were scraped for change, and out of the $40 which represented rep-resented the combined wealth of the three Houser was given enough to pay for a ticket to Salt Lake, with $15 for expenses. It took it most all, and Houser was touched with the unselfishness unsel-fishness of hip friends. The plan was for the others to come on at the earliest earli-est possible date and all were to have recouped their fortunes in Salt Lake The meeting was set for Christmas K day in Ilouser's room at tho Hotel V Utah, and a Christmas tree was plan- R ned to celebrate the probable dawn of H a new run of luck for the trio. Yes- Br terdny Hoover presented a baggage K check for the baggage of one of the Hr men, which he had brought along on ra his ticket The baggage consisted of I K a badly worn grip Within it were K rocks "wrapped in newspapers. Thon H Houser went to the police. Like Other Victim. K The story told by Houser Is almost mm identical with the one told by R. L K Cleary of Seattle, who told of having H been swindled out of $2,650 in a fake frm poolroom on the third floor of tho 1h Grand hotel in this city on last July B 4. Houser snld the men gave their K names as Henry Barnard and R. E. Hf Norton. The money lost by the Ca- B nadian was part of $6,000 for which K' he had recently sold some land. Ho K telegraphed for more money last night H to continue his Interrupted journey to & California. K R |