"  The  '  little  joker '  is  a  very  simple  trick,  and  yet,  from  ita
very  simplicity,  all  the  more  successful  in  entrapping  the  un-
wary. The  apparatus  is  (occasionally)  a  small  stand,  three
brass  thimbles  and  a  little  ball,  resembling,  in  size  and  ap-
uearance,  a  green  pea.  Often  the  former  is  dispensed  with
and  the  crown  of  a  hat  or  the  knees  used  instead.  The  '  rig-
ger,' in  the  most  nonchalant  manner  imaginable,  places  the
ball  apparently  under  one  of  the  thimbles,  in  plain  view  of
the  spectators,  and  offers  to  bet  any  sum  that  '  it  isn't  there.'
Our  friend  from  the  country  who  is  looking  on,  an  interested
spectator — is  astonished  at  such  a  proposition,  and  looks  upon
the  individual  making  it  as  little  better  than  a  fool;  for
didn't  he  see  the  ball  placed  under  the  thimble,  and  therefore
must  it  not  be  there  still  ?  .  His  idea  on  this  point  is  soon


THE    SECRETS   OF   THE   GREAT   CITY.  539

couiirmed — a  bystander  takes  up  the  bet,  the  thimble  is
raised,  and  there  sure  enough  is  the  ball — -just  where  he
knew  it  was !

"Again  the  ball  is  covered,  and  once  more  the  bet  is
offered.  Eager  to  prove  his  sagacity,  our  friend  produces  a
'  V '  or  '  X  spot,'  and  covers  the  sharper's  money.  The  thim-
ble is  raised,  a  moment  of  expectation,  a  single  glance,  and
Ihe  ball  is  gone  I  A  shout  of  laughter  from  the  swindler
and  his  confederates  standing  around,  announces  the  fact  that
the  gentleman  from  the  rural  districts  has  been  'sold.'
Pocketing,  not  his  money,  but  his  loss,  the  victim  walks  away
disconsolate,  painfully  conscious  that  he  has  been  '  done,'  not
only  out  of  his  cash,  but  has  had  the  wool  pulled  over  his
eyes  in  a  (to  him)  most  incomprehensible  manner."

SEWING   MACHINE  SWINDLES.
