Splitting the Profit Three Ways.
In the great horse markets, when a gentleman’s coachman, or a man who is deemed by him to be an expert judge, is commissioned to buy a certain style of horse at not over a stated price, the expert can easily arrange to make a double profit. He seeks out some scalper friend, and gives him a detailed description of the sort of horse wanted. The scalper then visits the stable of his associates in the business, selects a horse that “looks like the job” and secures an option on him at a price considerably lower than the buyer has said he will be willing to pay. He now brings in the expert, and if the horse suits that worthy, he is purchased at the option price and turned over to the employer of the expert at his specified price or a trifle less. Then the scalper and the expert divide the profit, or if another man “on the inside” has been used in the deal, the profit is “split three ways,” to give him a slice. The buyer is usually well satisfied with his bargain, and probably could not have bought the horse cheaper at first hand.