CORK CUTTER TO MILLIONAIRE 



on this one, Johnny," he said ; " so if you'll take it 

 I'll place it all with you instead of going round and 

 causing a panic." Coleman looked round, and seeing 

 better prices marked than he was giving didn't 

 hesitate to take Phil's thousand. Then he sent his 

 commissioners out to hedge it off, but beforehand 

 Phil had posted his men at other books and had 

 arranged the signal of raising his hat the minute he 

 got the money down with Coleman. Off went the hat, 

 and his men helped themselves, and when Coleman's 

 runners went to lay it off the odds had shortened very 

 much. They rushed back, and Coleman was hopping 

 mad, for he'd seen through the game right away. Of 

 course the horse won, and that day Phil cleaned up 

 about one hundred thousand dollars. 



As I have said, Phil would never tell anyone — not 

 even me— what he was going to do. An instance of 

 this, and of how he could hug his judgment to him- 

 self, was when we went to see the Fitzsimmons-Corbett 

 fight at Carson City. We went on a special train, and 

 I had no idea what he was going to do until we were 

 at the ring-side. Then he told me he was going to 

 back Fitz. I begged him not to, and the others 

 agreed with me, but he stuck to his opinion, and after 

 the men got in the ring and started fighting he took 

 all the money that was offered him— and there was 

 a lot of it, I can tell you. Johnny O'Neil bet him a 

 thousand dollars where I wouldn't have given him 

 five cents for his chance, and I told him so. I even 

 wanted to bet with him myself that Corbett would 

 win, but he wouldn't bet with me. I shall have a great 

 deal more to say about Corbett when I come to deal 

 with my friendship for him. In this fight it will be 

 recalled that Corbett took a strong lead in the early 

 rounds and drew a lot of blood from Fitz. In the 



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