THE BALLAD OF THE FLIM-FLAM MAN

by Guy Owen ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

Guy Owen he wan't know how to write without he had read a book by the name of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mr. Mark Twain. Only thing, he should have stole the Mississippi River too while he was at it. Owen tells his story in the locale of Cape Fear County down in North Carolina, round near Ellers Bend. It's all about this flim-flam artist, Mordecai Jones, who is a con man like Mr. Twain's the Duke and the Dauphin rolled into one. He's got more names than a body can rightly remember. He teams up with this AWOL soldier, Curley Treadaway, who is pretending to tell the story about their rascal adventures. This guy Curley plays the guitar and once sang on ""Grand Ol' Opry"" but he is a green hayseed. Well, old Mordecai teaches Curley a bagful of bunco tricks and they keep making their marks (victims), but then they always seem to lose their money and have to start over. Finally, Mordecai figures a scheme to bilk this mark of $20,000. Just as he and Curley succeed, the mark shows his badge. Mordecai escapes from jail but Curley stays caught. But he gets released on probation and an army discharge. Mr. Twain he wrote mostly a true book, but this one is mainly a lot of stretchers and you can't believe none of it.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Macmillan

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1965

Categories: FICTION