Mickey, Albert, Ash and Stacie all walked in to Eddie's bar. They ordered drinks and sat down, clearly discussing another con. It was then that Eddie thought about something that he heard about the night before.
Two con men had been talking and he had overheard. Eddie decided he was going to con one of the gang for a change. Then he thought of something else that would make up for all them times. A trick. He thought about one that the others would be unlikely to know but, as he was a barman, he knew how to do.
Which of them would be stupid enough to fall for the con though and the trick?
The answer walked through the door. The man walked up to the bar, whistling and when he stopped he just stood there grinning.
"Alright Eddie?" the man asked.
"Yes thanks Danny. Usual?"
"Yeah sure," Danny replied.
"Hey I'm kind of low on change. Think you can change a twenty?"
Danny gave him a funny look, but then thought better of it. It was Eddie after all. "Sure." He reached in to his pocket for some change, taking no notice of how much he had, pulling out a few notes as well.
"Great," Eddie replied, getting a twenty pound note from the till. He picked up a ten pound note along with a five pound note and five pounds worth of pound coins out of what Danny had put down on the bar. "You know what, I have enough of the other notes." Eddie then put the ten and five pound note back and took his twenty back.
"I thought you wanted change?"
"You don't have any other change other than a few two pence coins," Eddie pointed out. Danny looked down and realised he was right.
Danny picked up the notes and odd two pence coins and shoved them back in to his pocket, not realising that he was five pounds down. Eddie tried to stop himself laughing. He had finally gotten Danny to pay, even if he didn't realise it. Of course his tab was still high, but at least Eddie had got some back.
"Anyway. Any chance of a drink?"
"Take a look at this first. I think you might be interested." Eddie picked up a wooden box from behind the bar. "I put twenty pounds in here. Great place to keep it safe."
"Sure," Danny replied, not seeming interested.
"Can you give me a twenty pound note to put in," he asked.
"Why?"
"I just want you to - to prove how safe it is." Danny sighed and gave him a twenty pound note.
"I want that back though."
"Yeah, of course. There, look how safe it is." Danny nodded. "You want a box? It could be useful to keep all your money safe. Thirty pounds and it's yours."
Danny thought about it. If he could get it with the money still in and only pay thirty pounds then he would make a bit of money. "Ok," he agreed, taking the box and handing over the money.
He didn't realise that he may have forty pounds but twenty was his anyway. Eddie had had twenty and now had thirty from what Danny gave him meaning Danny had lost ten pounds.
"Hey wait a minute," the bar man said, as if pretending to realise his mistake. Danny ignored it though.
"How about this drink then?" he asked.
"Ok, but how about a bet first?" Eddie grabbed two shot glasses and filled one with whisky and one with water. "I bet I can get the whisky to go in to the water glass and the water in to the whisky glass without using any other containers."
Danny considered this. "That's impossible."
Eddie shrugged. "I'll bet you ten pounds you can't do it. If you manage it the tenner is yours, but if not then I get a free drink." Danny said as he placed ten pounds down in front of them and the other man nodded in agreement.
The barman grabbed a card out his pocket, which happened to be a driving licence, and placed it on top of the glass of water. He then carefully lifted it and turned the glass with the card on top over and placed it on the other shot glass.
He moved the card slightly to allow a small gap.
To Danny's amazement the liquids began to switch places.
"How the…?"
"Looks like the money is mine," Eddie replied, picking it up and putting it in his pocket. They continued to watch as the water slowly flowed down in to the whisky glass and the whisky went up in to the other glass.
Finally the two had completely switched. Eddie removed the top glass and took his driving licence back. He offered the glass of whisky to Danny, who took it and walked to join the others. "Put it on my tab."
Danny isn't as clever as he thinks and he can't resist a bet.
Eddie sighed as he wrote down yet another figure on Danny's tab. At least he had got some of his money from him and, one day, he would get the rest.
