ON THE TRIBUNE 



the tickets were being sold there was a prospect Qf 

 a gate for a wresthng match which had never been 

 achieved in any part of the world. " Hack " looked 

 well, but on the second or third day I saw him he said 

 to me that after the match he would tell me, as an old 

 friend, something which he did not feel at liberty to do 

 at that particular moment. I had some idea that his 

 knee, which had troubled him before, was not as it 

 should be. The crowd of newspaper men from all 

 parts was an education ; in fact, it was to be the 

 biggest sporting fixture for years. It must be under- 

 stood that neither boxing nor racing were allowed in 

 the state of Illinois, so that there was a limitation to 

 excitement in the way of sport. The columns and 

 columns which were turned out to work up enthusiasm 

 promised that the affair was bound to be a great one. 

 In the meantime Queensberry was making friends, and 

 was feted here and there, photographed by himself 

 and in groups, and the Tribune was syndicating 

 everything bearing the signature of Queensberry all 

 over the United States ; in fact, they were making a 

 lot of money out of him. 



The head of the Tribune was Mr Keeley, about 

 whom there was the romance that he was an English- 

 man born and had sprung from a very lowly position 

 into that of one of the greatest editors in America, at 

 an enormous salary. As the day of the big match drew ■ 

 nearer there were different rumours, and when I saw , 

 " Hack " two days before it he emphasised that he had | 

 something really important to tell me when all was over. ^ 

 The fact of it is that he really was not fit to go on with 

 the match, but the sum at stake was so stupendous that 

 there were inducements of every description offered him 

 to take the chance, and Hackenschmidt did not want 

 to let Jack Curley down. I saw Gotch the day before 



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