gers, and as he came out into the
street radiant with triumph, they fell upon him, and but for the
interference of the police would have beaten him severely.

A few months ago, a Gift Enterprise establishment was opened in Broadway,
not far from the Grand Central Hotel. The plan was as follows: A large
stock of jewelry, pianos, fancy articles, musical instruments, etc., all
of which were subsequently proved to have been hired for the purpose, was
displayed in a large store in Broadway. Purchasers, attracted by the
handsome stock, and the announcement that it would be disposed of by a
"grand drawing," were induced to purchase sealed envelopes from the
clerks, at one dollar each. Each envelope contained a check on which was
a printed number. Purchasers, after buying these checks and ascertaining
the numbers, were requested to pass down into the basement. Here a large
wheel, turned by a man, was constantly revolving. The purchaser
presented his check, and a clerk thrust his hand into the wheel and drew
out a small slip of pasteboard. If the number thus drawn corresponded
with the number of the check held by the purchaser, the purchaser was
entitled to the article the name of which was affixed to the said number,
on a printed list of the contents of the store. The scheme was seemingly
fair enough, but the majority of the tickets drew blanks. Occasionally,
however, when the sales began to show signs of slackening, a lucky number
would draw a watch, a diamond pin, or a piano, and the article would be
formally delivered to the holder of the ticket. Immediately the crowd
which filled the store would invest anew in tickets, but nothing but
blanks would reward them.

The captain of police, commanding the precinct in which the affair was
conducted, became interested in the scheme. His quick eye detected many
irregularities in the transaction, and he saw that the holders of the
lucky numbers were always the same men, and that they at once passed into
a back room of the establishment. Convinced that the purchasers were
being swindled, he attired himself in plain clothes, purchased a ticket,
went down to the basement, and drew a blank. Taking his stand by the
wheel, he watched the drawing of sixty-five tickets in succession. Each
drew a blank. Thoroughly satisfied of the fraud, he procured a warrant
for the arrest of the manager of the scheme, and seized the
establishment. The wheel was found to contain about a bushel