The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1865-10-31

the boat moved on, when shrill, piercing
scream arose from the throng 1t was the
dark-eyed child and he had found his papa.
"Come heah, my little mars'rY said an old
negro steward, lifting the boy aloft and wip-
ing his eyes, docs yer see gentleman yon-
der on de quay-a mos respectable gentleman
agwine in de hack? Dat man has got your
pas golden Jewels"
The boy marked fiereely through his tears
the shapely limbs and the long, bright ringlets,
and on the strangers white hand the glitter of
the dead mans gem. A gush of grief drown
ed out the scene, and the steamer drifteed
away. ase asaae aat ~
Twenty years followed, and each wear wit
messed upon the western waters its hofts of
dupes and blacklegs. But among the latter
class there was one singularly eccentric and
successful. He never lost. af 9 as
There were no impossibilities in the games
he played. he was anec.omancer with cards;
with some there were chances-he made all
chances certainty. He plundered the poor
and the rich, yet cast their purses back again
with scorn In his dark eye, and he was invari-
ably searching for gentiemanly tourist with
flowing hair, upon whose track he seemed to
be forever, yet whom he never found At
times he would leap from the gaming table, as
astealner passed, exelaiming that he saw the
object OF his search, and offer the captain his
fortune to turn and overtake him. He remark
ed him upon RATS, and landings, and in reced-
ing villages, and among the thousand faces of
busy cities. Yet, with those glinpses, the fig
ures passed away and the years dragged by,
and the travelling public thought the young
man crazy-though not upon the subject Of
cards. ~ss
They met one day--the pursuer and the
pursued-atter all those twenty years. 1t was
tar afternoon upon the Mississippi, and upon
the steamer Kischicoquillas. They sat in the
front cabin at one of the many tables, and the
floor at the feet of the pursuer was dark with
ancient b0od-StainS.
Il beg your pardon he said quickly, bend
ing has dark eyes npon his opponent; @wiIl
you change places with me ?"
The flowing hair-of the other was very eray.
but ne was aalm as winter, and only for mo-
ment faltered. 1t ~ A. ia
IF you insist he answered pleasantly; @it
can give you no adyantagen D HO
Ihey were wonderfully matched: but the
young man won. They wagered extravagant-
ly, but the young man always won.
Il will play you my watch" said the elder
~ person-and the young man won. S4a
Here are sleeve-buttons and brooch, 2 he
sald again; "let US go onl"-and the young
man won! ~.
4 have nothing more" smiled the pursued,
as cold as stalagmite. gtFl asg
SSS naudSOme ring upon your finger-an
emerald will you hazard it?p -
Phe old man laid it down after a pause.
ut is my last ornament he muttered: aI
show four queensn
"And If' aashrieked that aark-eyed youth.
tossing away gold, table and chairs-ai show
four kingsl The ring is mine yon won It from
my father whom you murdered. His blood
yours" s.t. r ,,r..I7 TS'i-f sr-.7 -
They grappled at once; knives flashed in
the dark, close cabin, and pistols clicked and
snapped. The boats officers and the bystand-
ers dashed in and tore them apart, and they
would have beaten the young man that his
hand was raised against gray hairs. IS. M
Give de boy faih playp cried an old negro
steward, knows 'em boffl Desc eyes saw
de iader of de young mars'F stretched at de
oders feet. Let 'em ashore, captain. Give
each OF dem knife, and let the boat oonp'
Ihey placed them on the slippery dike--a
marsh on one side, where Shiny aligators lay
oasking, on the other the broad, turbid Missis-
sippi. The passengers crowded aft; the great
bulk OF the steamer drove on. They fell upon
each other in the clear light of the afternoon: /:
their knives glittered an instant, and then the
avenger stood aone, with the gray hairs at his
feet.
A boat coming down the river, put in for
the solitary tourist, and the rival vessels be-
gan to measure speed. Their crews buoyed
them on with wager and huzza They sum-
rnoned every inch of steam to whirl their
cleaning wheels, and the tinbers in either
craft trembled like sllipwreck. There was a
booming crash, gush Of vapor and fire, and |
the hindmost steamer burst into fragments |
The ayenger and the avenged were equali |
l-N. Y. Citizen. aiq HasissoG sIsL149 q,
rs 81 14 NJ 81 s