Sometimes a “Colonel” or a “General” or a “Judge” would take the place of the “widow,” the man posing as that character being suitably dressed for the part, commanding in appearance, and so plausible and polished in address as to disarm all suspicion. During the preliminary negotiations between the groom and the buyer, the “General” would be conveniently stationed in the hay-loft overhead and would be summoned by electric bell when wanted, the “sucker” meanwhile being taken into the alley to see the horse go through his paces. Needless to say that the buyer on getting the horse home and trying him out quickly rued his bargain, and equally unnecessary to say that when he went back to the swell stable for redress he found the place abandoned and was wholly unable to locate the men who had perpetrated the swindle. This method of fleecing the unwary buyer is still in vogue but far less common than was the case before the advent of the automobile. Still it will be well to take glowing horse-sale advertisements with a large grain of salt, and better still to purchase a horse through some reliable commission man or dealer. Landing a Sucker. Dr. H. W. Hawley, an experienced veterinary horse buyer at the Chicago Stock Yards, says in the June, 1903, number of the Chicago Veterinary College “Quarterly Bulletin,” that most of the tricks of the horse dealing trade, though not all of them, are performed by scalpers. It takes only a few glances or questions for the sharper to know just the sort of horse the city buyer is looking for, and the scalper, with the aid of his colleagues, proceeds to “land a sucker.” The gentlemanly scalper, with a disinterested manner, informs the buyer that he saw a lovely horse in a certain barn, the color being mentioned, but not being a horseman he knows nothing as to the soundness of the animal, nor as to the price. Word is sent along the line, and everything is ready. The horse is led out and just suits; is sound and all right, but the sum asked is $25 to $75 more than the market price. Perhaps the unsuspecting buyer will offer $10 or $15 more than the auction price, but he is allowed to go away with a polite, “Thank you, for the offer.” Another disinterested party whispers in the buyer’s ear that the horse will be sold at auction. Sure enough, the animal is led to the auction stables, and care is taken that the buyer sees it passing. The auctioneer and ringman are posted, and they wait for the sucker. The horseman starts the animal at pretty near his value. The bidding is rapid. The sucker gets in, and under excitement bids two or three times. Perhaps one of the regular eastern shippers bids once, but as a rule, the sucker, the auctioneer, and the scalper are the only bidders. The latter can usually tell when the victim has made his last bid, and the horse is knocked down to him at a good profit, which is divided between those concerned.