“I lost more than that,” said Ed, with a mournful look.
“What did you lose?”
“Fifteen plunks.”
“In what way?”
“Well, after you told me you had collared five thousand dollars on L. S. I went home and kicked myself around the block.”
“That was right. You deserved it. If you’d only bought two shares of L. S. as I told you to at first, you might have made seventy-five dollars clear profit.”
“That’s what I said to myself. I felt I’d been a chump. You made a bunch of easy money while I hadn’t made a sou. Well, along came Denny McFadden, and I told him what a calf I’d been. He asked me if I had any money. I told him I had fifteen dollars. Then he offered to put me next to something that beat stocks all hollow. I knew what he meant, and fought shy. But he talked me into going around to a certain pool-room with him, just to see how the thing was worked.”
“You needn’t go any further, Ed,” said Jack. “I know what you’re going to say. Denny got you to wager your fifteen dollars on some horse before you left. Isn’t that it?”
“Yes; I put the whole thing on Custard Pie, a long shot, one hundred to one. Denny said he had a tip that the nag was slated to win next day. He’d been over at the track and claimed he knew all about it. It was the same as picking up the money, and when I got the fifteen hundred I was to give him five hundred for the tip.”
“Ed, you’re easy. I thought you knew what Denny is by this time. As for racing, don’t you know that race-tracks are open gambling-places, maintained in defiance of the State Constitution because of a law passed corruptly?”