Ben replied that he was in no condition to make a match. He had not yet recovered from his fit of sickness, and more than that, he was suffering still from the effects of Allen’s foul blow.
This ended the discussion for the time being. But after leaving the saloon, and thinking over the matter, Ben sent two of his friends, Sweeney and Fairchild, with two hundred dollars, and this message to Allen:
“Tell him that I will put up this two hundred dollars as a forfeit to fight him for even money, for the amount he has named, the fight to come off in thirty days.”
Fairchild and Sweeney found Allen in Martin’s Varieties; but the St. Louis pugilist refused the proposition on the remarkable grounds, that he did not care to add to Hogan’s reputation by giving him the chance to have his name coupled with his (Allen’s). After enjoying a benefit in Pittsburg, Allen went back to St. Louis, where he claimed that he had driven Ben Hogan out of the former city.
Although not by any means driven out, Ben left Pittsburg for Petrolia, while his friend Sweeney returned to his home in Kansas City.
In Petrolia Ben again took possession of the house which he had rented to Nell Robinson, and installed Kitty therein, thinking that she might do better there than in Pittsburg, as she certainly would not be surrounded by so many lovers.
Looking about for some fresh enterprise, Hogan hit upon the idea of erecting an Opera House in Petrolia. It so happened that, talking this project over with an acquaintance named Crittenden, he made a bet with the latter, of one hundred dollars in money and a basket of wine, that he would build an opera house in thirty days. In order to accomplish this task, it was necessary to divide up the work, and go outside of the town for assistance. Accordingly, he sent one man to Corry, another to Warren, and so on, procuring the windows and doors at one point, the lumber at another, and the seats at a third. In this way the work was pushed through with great rapidity.
It proved a good deal heavier undertaking than Ben had counted upon, but he did not permit his energy to wane. As he had lost all his own money in the seductive game of faro, he had no ready capital to risk. But he went right along as though his bank account was unlimited. So, indeed, in a certain way it was; for Mr. Taylor, to whom Ben had applied for assistance, told him his enterprise ought to be encouraged, and gave him authority to draw upon him for any amount. Ben got the bulk of his material on sixty days’ credit, and with two thousand dollars in ready money, furnished by Mr. Taylor, he carried the project successfully through.
In thirty days from the time of its conception, the Petrolia Opera House was finished, and thrown open to the public. Its total cost was eleven thousand dollars, and it was really a very substantial and handsome structure. The hall itself was on the second story, and was completely equipped with gas, scenery, and stage appointments. The walls were double boarded, and eight inches thick. On the ground floor was a bar-room forty by thirty feet, together with forty bed-rooms for the accommodation of the traveling public. Altogether it was a decided credit to the town, as well as a monument to Ben Hogan’s enterprise.
Dan Shelby, the well-known Buffalo manager, brought on his company and opened the house, playing for a season of two weeks. These first performances were fairly successful, and the profits were divided between Shelby and Ben. The Opera House was afterwards used by traveling companies, and is to-day well known to showmen.