The Oldest Trick in the Book
A grifter in Seattle's city jail has a penchant for a classic pocketknife switch that leaves tourists penniless.
Nels Johnson, alias Frank Nelson, is confined in the city jail on suspicion of being a swindler. It is claimed that his method of operation is similar to the dice game known as 'top and bottom,' but with entirely different tools. He picks out a victim, and after insinuating himself into his good graces, takes an ordinary knife from his pocket and hands it to him to open. The victim thinks the knife opens by a hidden spring and imagines he can find it. The operator banters him, and finally, thoroughly disgusted, he gives up the task. Then, the swindler bets he can open the knife and the other man says he cannot. At last the money is put up, and, true to the adage that the hand is quicker than the eye, the trick knife is changed for an ordinary one—its exact counterpart—and opened before the astonished would-be 'sure winner.' The next act is when the victim tells the policeman how he came to Seattle for a little fun and was swindled by some man he does not know and in some place he cannot find.
“The victim tells the policeman how he came to Seattle for a little fun and was swindled by some man he does not know and in some place he cannot find.”
Street scams have long been a feature of the urban landscape in growing cities. While the 'trick knife' has vanished, the fundamental con—exploiting the desire for easy money or a quick shortcut—remains a staple of Seattle's public life.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.