CARD SHARPERS AT LYTTELTON.

Marlborough Daily Times, Volume IX, Issue 20902, 11 May 1887, Page 2

CARD SHARPERS AT LYTTELTON.

The following account of the method of working pursued by the two adventurers, of whom wo published a description yesterday, lias been telegraphed by the Christchurch correspondent of the Wellington Evening Press:—A state incut appeared among the Wellington telegrams that a Couple of visitors to Lyttelton had by means of the confidence trick obtained from a resident of I lie Port the sum of about L2OO. The victim was said to be a publican at Lyttelton,, and the manner in which the 1 ‘ trick ” was worked is interesting as well as amusing. On Wednesday the alleged publican was visited by a man, who said that lie Iliad a friend with him who had just arrived by the steamer, and was * good ’mark as lie had plenty of money, the publican unsuspectingly fell into tiic trap which had been laid for him, and agreeing to the proposals, decided to make the acquaintance of this friend, whose name was said to bo Col. riundas. The preliminaries of introduction over, the trio sat to a quiet game of poker, in which the supposed “ soft ” colonel was 1 o be the dupe of the other two. To further his little scheme, which dawned upon the victim when too late, the originator advanced the hotelkeeper the sum of LSO, and with this, and with the assurance of succeeding, he unhesitatingly “wagered ' 011 the oker. He lost it, and supplemented it with several other fifteen, which also found their way to the pocket; of the “colonel,” when the proceeding; were abruptly terminated by the appearance of a “ limb of the law.” The confederates, for so the two now turned out to lie, defied the law, but offered to deal liberally with the man whose cash they had succeeded in reaching, and tlm “softy ” generously threw down a suflieienfc sum to purchase a c-se of wine. The time for the departure of the steamer being due, they bid the hotelkeeper goodbye, berthed themselves on board, and sailed away, exuberant at the idea that they had suoce ded in victimising a clever man.