TALE-TELLING.

NZ Truth, Issue 252, 23 April 1910, Page 6

TALE-TELLING.

The Guesser and the "*Gonce."

One o£ the greatest pests of race- ' courses m immaculate.. New Zealand is the "guesser," the gentleman who looks out for green-horns, and tells a terrific tale of a good thing, and induces the mug to speculate and then looks for a cut if the good thing lands. A specimen of the tale-telling tip-slinging genius m the person of one George luiller, a young married man, appeared before Magistrate Riddell, at the Wellington S.M. J s Court, yesterday (Friday), charged with having, on April 9, stolen the sum oi £ti, the property of one Pc ter Keith , Buchanan. Buchanan is a country resident, occasionally engaged m, horse-dealing, and wbosa 'igcnorance oi horse-racinrg is blissful and colossal. He made a Thorndonquay boarding-house his Wellington headquarters, and on Friday evening of last week got into conversation with Miller, who, with his young missus, resided at the same hashery. t Miller mentioned that he was a trainer, was m with a bookmaker, and knew the usual good thing for a race at Trenthara. Eager to get rapidly rich, Buchanan intimated his willingness to put on a tenner, but Miller urged him to put more on, and suggested a score. Buchanan stated his intention of putting on £-15. parted first with six sovereigns, and then gave a cheque for £H, and wanted flye pounds back, which Miller said he would give him m the morning. Sundry drinks bad 'been consumed that night, but Buchanan said his suspicions had been aroused, and he was early astir. As soon as Miller arrived on the scene, he wanted his money back. Miller gave him the cheque, but stuck to the good gold. Early morning drinks were consumed, and then they started a process sion round the pubs 'm search of- a bookmaker, who didn't come to light, and existed only m Miller's mind. There were a lot of drinks consumed at Miller's expense, and Buchanan, fly, drank small 'uns, with the v result that he kept sober ""while Miller got "■potty,." The end of it all was that Miller got drunk, and was given oyer to a constable » who heard Buchanan's tale, and tbeii took the tale-teller to the Detective Office, where 'Tec. Hammond tcok a deal, and locked Miller up; .tbe latter protesticg that rather tban be locked up he would go to his wife, who was at the railway station, and give the blank mongrel his money. Miller's defence was a' total denial of Buchanan's story, so far, as the gold was concerned, and a sort, of an. alibi was sought to be proved by his young, pretty, and well-dressed missus, tbat George came to bed on Saturday morning at one o'clock, and gave her the cheque for £14. There was no. gold. Further, at 4 o'clock, George wanted a cigarette and a match, and a dutiful young wife got out of bed and searchcl for a fag and seme lucilers. She turned j out George's pockets, and- got the fag, but there was no goiddn his pockets. The alibi was not convincing enough ! for the magistrate, .who convicted Millet and sentenced him 'to a month's im- | prisonment.