The Adventures of a Country Boy at a Country Fair

by Charles King

  CHAPTER VIII.

  _THE JEWELRY FAKIR._

  Teddy's curiosity regarding the kind of business which Hazelton proposedto do was so great that, for the time being, he forgot his own venturein watching this supposed friend.

  The jewelry fakir disappeared amid the crowd for a few moments,reappearing in a carriage drawn by a fancifully decorated horse, and thegaudy trappings caused the sightseers to stop, believing somethinginteresting or curious was to be seen.

  Hazelton introduced himself as an agent for a large manufacturingcompany, and proposed to dispose of "samples" of their goods in a mannerwhich would be satisfactory to all. He began by throwing away greatnumbers of cheap rings made to imitate gold, and as the boys scrambledfor them he complained that the older members of the throng--thosepeople whom he particularly wished should test the merits of hiswares--were getting nothing.

  "I can change that," he said, after hesitating a moment, as if to devisesome plan. Then holding up half a dozen pairs of cuff-buttons, hecontinued: "I am allowed to give away only six of these. What gentlemanwill advance twenty-five cents for one of these sets, knowing the moneywill be returned to him? By that means I shall place the goods wherethey will do the most good."

  In a short time the necessary number of purchasers was found, eachhaving paid a quarter of a dollar, and then, with great ostentation, thefakir returned to every one the money he had given.

  A similar performance was gone through with in the case of ten sealrings, and by that time the crowd were in a state of high excitement,for they were getting supposedly valuable goods by simply loaning thisagent their money for a short time.

  The fakir then held up a lot of watch-chains, asking who would give hima dollar for one, but in this instance he made no mention of returningthe money.

  Believing these also were to be given away, every man scrambled to passup his dollar before the supply should be exhausted, and fully twohundred dollars was taken in by the generous "agent." Then, as thedemand ceased, Hazelton produced from his valise what appeared to be aheavy gold watch.

  Wrapping it in paper, and attaching it to a chain, he cried:

  "Who wants to take another, and receive as a present what I havefastened to the end of it; but on the condition that this paper shallnot be removed until I give permission?"

  A young fellow standing near Teddy made all possible haste to pass thefakir a dollar and receive the prize.

  Then the remainder of the crowd clamored for more to be put up in thesame manner, and Hazelton disposed of at least a hundred before theclamorous throng could be appeased.

  While this was being done Teddy saw the young fellow slyly remove thepaper and examine his goods. A look of anger and disappointmentoverspread his face as a cheap, empty locket, fashioned on the outsidesomething like the case of a watch, was revealed to view. Twenty centswould have been an extravagantly high price for what he had paid adollar; but it was possible the agent would return the money as he haddone in the previous cases, and the victimized fellow held his peace.

  Hazelton was now ready to take a hurried departure. No more dollars werepassed up, and quickly seizing the reins, he said:

  "I have not represented these goods to be gold; but they are a fineimitation, and Mr. Nathan Hargreaves, of Peach Bottom Run, will probablyact as my agent for the sale of them. You can get what may be wantedfrom him if you need any more."

  The last words were hardly spoken before he drove quickly through thethrong, leaving his dupes in a daze, from which they did not recoveruntil he was lost to view.

  Now Teddy understood what the "Give-Away" game was, and he also knewthat it was far from being honest, although Hazelton had really made nopromises which he did not fulfill.

  Some of the victims were angry, and vowed to flog "that feller within aninch of his life" before sunset; others bore their loss philosophically,and turned away with the remark that the fakir was "a cute one," whilethe majority hastened off lest they should be suspected of beingvictims.

  Teddy returned to his cane-board feeling sad because he had been somistaken in this particular man, and had hardly reached there whenHazelton, on foot, came from the side of the fair grounds opposite wherehe had disappeared, saying hurriedly, as he handed the boy a blacksatchel somewhat resembling a sample case:

  "Look out for this! All my money is in it."

  Without waiting for an answer the man was gone, and the young fakir wasin no slight distress at being the custodian of so much wealth.

  After considerable discussion with Tim he decided to leave it behind thecane-board where it would be screened from view, and then a crowd ofcustomers suddenly appearing, he was so busy during the next half hourthat he hardly had time to think of that which had been intrusted to hiskeeping.

  Not until trade grew dull once more did Hazelton appear, lookingdecidedly well pleased with himself, and, standing where the passers-bycould not hear, he asked:

  "Well, what do you think of the give-away game now?"

  "It looks to me like a swindle," Teddy replied, bluntly. "The things yousold were not worth half what you got for them."

  "Six cents apiece for the chains, and five for the lockets is what I payby the quantity," the fakir said, with a laugh.

  "But you made the people think they were getting real watches."

  "I was mighty careful to say nothing of the kind. They thought they sawa watch, and I told them I would make each purchaser a present of whatwas on the chain. Their idea was to get the best of me, and in that Ididn't lose very much. It's a case of setting a thief to catch a thief,and the smartest man comes out ahead."

  "But why did you leave all the money with me?"

  "Because it sometimes happens that my customers make a kick, and try toget back their stuff by force, so I don't carry much cash in my pocketswhile I am on the fair grounds."

  "Of course you are all through now. You can't expect to do the samething over again."

  "That's exactly what I shall do in about an hour, only in a differentportion of the inclosure, and you'll see that I can catch just as manysuckers as before."

  Then, in order to be rid of the satchel, for it seemed as if he wasreally concerned in the swindle so long as it remained in his keeping,Teddy said he wanted to see what Dan and Sam were doing.

  "Go ahead; I'll stay near by where I can keep an eye on the stuff, soyou needn't let that worry you."

  As a matter of fact, the boy was not eager to leave his place ofbusiness; but having said so, it was necessary to go, or let Hazeltonunderstand exactly why the remark had been made.

  Cautioning Tim to "keep his eyes open for trade," he walked across thegrounds to the building where Dan was employed, and found that younggentleman displaying the good qualities of a peculiar-looking weapon.

  "This is the Model Pocket Rifle," Dan was saying to a party ofgentlemen. "The shoulder-rest is detachable, and you can buy aneffective weapon for a trifle over fifteen dollars, as---- Hello, Teddy,how's business?" he added, suddenly, on observing his friend, and thetwo had an opportunity for conversation, while the curious ones wereexamining the rifle.

  Teddy gave a brief account of what had already been done, and thenasked:

  "Can't you get off a few minutes and go with me to see what Sam isdoing?"

  It was not difficult for Dan to get a short leave of absence, and thetwo went directly to the creek where their acquaintance, who proposed tomake himself the central figure of the fair, was rowing around in ajaunty looking craft.

  Sam wore a sailor's shirt, turned away at the throat, and tied with ablack silk handkerchief, while on the breast of the garment was workedthe name "Davis Boat and Oar Co., Detroit, Mich." The same legend beingprinted in gold on the band of his straw hat.

  Sam had evidently been expecting his friends, for he espied them beforethey reached the shore, and, rowing to the bank, insisted they shouldtake a sail.

  "Come on, it's all right," he said. "It don't make any differencewhether I carry passengers or not so long as th
e boat is kept goin', an'I want to show you somethin' fine in the way of rowin'."

  Neither of the boys cared very much about accepting the invitation; buthe was so persistent that they finally stepped on board as the easiestmanner of settling the matter.

  "I tell you what it is, fellers," he said, as he pulled out into thestream, "I'm jest makin' things hum around here. These folks have neverseen any kind of style put into rowin', an' I'm knockin' their eyesout."

  "Don't give it to them too strong, or they may want to keep you here asan ornament after the fair closes, and then the rest of the world wouldsuffer," Dan said, with a laugh, and Sam replied:

  "You fellers can make fun; but what I say is straight," and then he madepreparations for giving an exhibition. "Watch me now, an' you'll learn athing or two about boats."

  During the next ten minutes he pulled as if in a race, first up and thendown the stream, until sheer lack of breath forced him to stop.

  "I hope you haven't set the keel on fire," Dan said, solicitously."There's no question but that you made good time, though I'm inclined tothink the build of the boat had considerable to do with the speed. Thisone looks as if she would row herself."

  "That's all you know about it. If I hadn't been a first-class handat----"

  "See there!" Teddy cried, excitedly, as he pointed toward the shore."That's the man who got my fifteen dollars. Pull in, Sam, an' pull forall you are worth!"

  The oarsman delayed only long enough to gaze in the direction indicated,where he saw the old fakir whom they had met with such great loss atWaterville, and then he bent himself to the task.

  "Do you believe it will be safe to tackle him after last night?" Danasked.

  "I'm going to, and if he don't get away from me I'll ask some of thecrowd to help me have him arrested," Teddy replied, grimly.

  The little craft was a considerable distance from the shore. Sam was soexcited that he only thought of landing in the shortest possible spaceof time, and instead of keeping a lookout for other boats, rowedvigorously, as if he were the only oarsman on the stream.

  Teddy and Dan sat motionless, with their eyes fixed on the man, and thusit happened that no one on board saw a double ender, in which were threeladies and two gentlemen, come around a bend in the creek directly inSam's course.

  There was a shout from the bank, three shrill screams of terror, andthen a crash as the two craft came together with terrific force.

  The occupants of both boats were thrown into the water as the frailtimbers were splintered, and the spectators on the bank acted as ifpanic-stricken.