your eye on your
watch and your money, or you 'll get 'touched;' and if we should chance
to be separated in a crowd, be careful not to let anyone 'tout' you."

Now, if there 's one thing I am especially proud of, it is my ability
to take care of myself in any company, and Murray's patronizing manner,
in view of my professed ignorance, rather galled me.

"The man who gets my watch or money is welcome to it," I answered
shortly, buttoning my coat about me as we walked along; "and as for
being 'touted'--well, I 'll try to take care of that."

Whether to be 'touted' was to be held up, buncoed, or drugged and
robbed, I had no definite notion; but I took it to be a confidence game
of some sort and despised it accordingly.

Just here, following Murray, I elbowed my way into the hottest,
best-natured, most conglomerate crowd it was ever my lot to mingle
with. Merchants, clerks and gilded youths, laborers, gamblers,
negroes, and what-not, money in hand, pushed, pulled and trod upon each
other indiscriminately in their efforts to reach the betting stands.

The book-makers, ranged along in rows, stood on little platforms in
front of their booths, taking the crowd's money and calling out the
amount and nature of each bet to assistants within who scratched off
and registered corresponding pool-tickets which were quickly returned
to the struggling bettors.

On a blackboard at the end of each booth were posted the names of the
horses with their jockeys. Against these names the book-makers chalked
up their figures, increasing or lessening the odds from time to time as
the different horses were fancied or neglected in the betting.

"There 's nothing in this race but Maid Marian," said Murray, scanning
the blackboards critically; "but 4 to 5 is the best I see on her, and I
want even money or nothing"--the which was largely Greek to me until by
questioning and deduction I found the situation in English to be as
follows:

Maid Marian was judged on breeding and past performance to be much the
best horse in the race, so much so that although about to run with five
or six other racers, the book-makers demanded odds from those who bet
on her in the ratio of 5 to 4.

When I asked Murray why they did not offer $1 to $1.25 he replied that
"halves and quarters did n't go," and pointed out a sign which read:
"No bets taken under $5." There were several smaller "books," however,
which took $2 bets, and did a thriving business.

The cr