"WHO'S THE DUPE?" 405 



they will then employ each other to oppose each other, 

 and this produces several good effects to them : 

 it makes the public think there is no sort of combina- 

 tion among them : it holds the dealer who buys the 

 horse harmless, whatever he may give, as he can say 

 (nay prove) that D. of such a place, E. of another, 

 and F. of a third, bid nearly the sum he gave ; and 

 he, and all of them, always wish a gentleman to pay 

 enormously for any thing he buys that does not corne 

 out of their hands, as well as what does. Let any one 

 watch the dealers when a horse is at auction : a bid is 

 made ; he will see all their faces turned immediately 

 from the horse and to the company : he will see them 

 peeping and peering about, standing on tiptoe, all on 

 the alert. This is to see who bids, for the who makes 

 all the difference. If a dealer has bid, and they 

 know he wants the horse for himself, they are not only 

 still as mice, but my life on it they walk away, as much 

 as to say " We would not have him at any price ;" and 

 a word or quiz, loud enough to be heard, leaves the 

 horse nearly in their brother dealer's hands. If they 

 find he has got beyond the price their chum intends 

 to give, and they find a gentleman or gentlemen (as 

 they would say) " sweet upon him," back they all 

 come, and run the horse up ; as the next best thing 

 to throwing him into the hands of one of themselves 

 is the making a gentleman pay for daring to buy of 

 any one else. It may be asked if they never get 

 caught in their own trap, and get a horse knocked 

 down to them at more than his value ? Certainly 

 sometimes they do, but very seldom; for they generally 

 can judge pretty accurately by circumstances how far 

 they dare go in their bidding. When, however, they 

 do get caught, it is no great matter : the loss (if any) 



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