Policeman gets his man
The female portion of the Birkenhead populace resident
around about Seddon and Hutton Roads was thrown into a ferment last Friday morning (says the Auckland Star) by the eccentricity of a man who went about talking wildly, making extravagant statements, and acting strangely. An SOS message was sent for Constable Beddek, and when his uniform hove in sight, the eccentric made preparation for a speedy exit from the locality.
Recognising the unreliability of his own legs as a means of locomotion (he had previously been drinking) he chased a horse around a paddock to make use of the steed, and the constable chased him; he caught the horse and the constable caught him before he could effect a mount.
Thereupon the captive gravely whispered to the constable that if he allowed an escape he would put £1000 on Gold Kip and £500 on Crowhurst for him at the races next day, and would lend him £100 to keep him in car fares till the dividends were landed from the totalisator. A deaf ear was turned to the tempter by the guardian of the law, and later on the man was brought before a magistrate and remanded for a week in gaol on medical observation, on a charge of having been found helplessly drunk.