Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-06-19


ton Budd won and the Spaniard lost
and on the next Budd whip-sawed him,
and that closed the deal. Don Joaquin's
smile was not Viseble. AS soon as a
case was out on the next deal, the Don
coppered it with twenty doubloens, and
Budd played it open for the same. 1t
was the box-card, and the Spaniard
showed his teeth again, but not gleefully
He said "Caraio!" under his breath
Another action followed with the same
result Then the Spaniard said in an un-
tone, ''Senor, | request that you will not
copper my bets; be so good as to play
your game without reference to mine"
'.But, my dear Don" rejoined Budd,
languidly, ''you and ] are at equal liber-
ty to bet upon our judgment; if cop
per your bets it is becanse i think / shall
win, and not because. | think you will
lose. Accept any best wishes for your
good luck, Senor."
A few more turns were dealt. and the
Spaniards doubloons kept accumulating
in front of the American.
"Sener," said the Don, 81 must regard
your behavior as a persecution, since you
seem to have cast spell en- my Luck -.
''Ah, my dear Captain, Luck is as
tickle as Love, said Budd, and the laugh
that was on his face died away in a lit
tie fitting shadow there was a quiyer
of the thin lips, and the next second bis
eyes were full of the demonism that al
ways lurked behind that maddening
memory.
The Don ground his teeth, and the
gutteral ''C-a-T-a-J-O" thai grOwled-
through them was OmIu0us. Sale never
| raised her eyes from the cards. There
n Yl n Of
in the box. The Don put down twen-
! ty on the case King, open. Budd cop
pered the King. The King went on the
outside, and the Don's doubloons obeyed
| Sales fair fingers and swelled Budd's
accumuiations.
Then, for the first time, the Castilian
| others eyes.
Your Luck is desperate, senor,"
said Budd, with the most exasperatiDg
courtesy.
"Make your bets, Senors, said Sale,
sit is a three card turn" n"-glancing at the
cases-''Four, Five and Queen"
The Don hummed a stave of Ma Bon
ita, clinked his doubloons and slowly put
| them aIl-forty-four-i in two high yell
low sacks on the fve-spot, coppered.
Budd counted ont forty-feur doubloons
and seized the Don's pile, open.
The Castilian showed his white teeth
in a grim smile again and said, Senor, be
good anOugh to remove the copper from
nv bet" Budd removed It. bowed low
to the Don, and said, as a cavalier might,
don joaquin, be so gracious as TO
place that copper upon my bet. The
courtly Spaniard bowed and gracefully
0T1lrIlipd with fhp rpQuect
Sales big solitaire shot out a hundred
colored flame, as she put her tiny front
| finger on the card.
"a moment, SenOrita, /" said the Don,
raising his finger. He turned TO Budd
-'My dear SenOr," he said, as gently
as he might have breathed new VOW TO
his lady-loye, ''this is persecution If
that five-spOt loses, one of US must
die
Budd said something TO Sale IN Span
/ ish, and she moved the card slowly. II
! showed a diamond on each corner. If
1 there was one in. The center il was q
/ fve-spot, and it would lose. But it might
be the four. If it was, there was yet a
ohanop that the Spaniard might win, or
/ that the FIVE might be the Hh0ck" caro-.
1 But if there was red diamond in its
! centre. the American or the Spaniard
must spill out the life that was in him;
/ for Don Joaquin's word was as his bond,
/ his hand was as lightning-like as bis
/ passions, and the handsome American
/ that sat at the other end of the table was
! not slower or more faltering.
! The -SpaBIard stood at one end of the
table at the fair dealers left, with his
/ right hand in his bosom and the jeweled
4 fingers of his left drumming on the green
/ table-cover Budd sat at the corner of
| the other end, next TO a young Artillery
i Lieut. who was keeping the cases, with
i one hand resting on his hip and the other
/ languidly clinking bis doubloons. The
/ rich olive in the Castilian's cheek was
1 clouded darker than its wont, there was
the faintest CLEAN of white teeth set be-
j tween his thin lips parted little, and
there was an unearthly glitter In the
wicked transparency of his great eyes
i The Anglo-Saxon's face, always pale,
! was whittier than its wont; smile and
sneer chased each other over it like a
sunbeam in frolic with shadow. There
were no other players at the table. The
throng in the room, half Mexicans and
half Americans, seemed TO have tacitly
chosen these two, each the champion
4 of his race, and stood mutely eXpectant,
waiting the issue and the decision.
So the lamps in the chandelier over
head burned not more no.selessly than
than the hushed thropg watched the ta-
per finger, that slowly pushed aside the
top card. Sale kept the card moving
/ lust preceptibly, and every eye was bent
upon its centre, strained TO catch its
revelation. A quarter of an inch more
would tell the story Budd started to
rise from his seat, and Sale suddenly
fiirted away the top card.
There was a diamond in the centre Of
the uncovered pasteboard. There was
binding flash, a crash, Budd reeled
pace or two and sank back over bench
that stood on the floor behind him the
Spaniard folded his arms with his snok-
ing pistol in one hand theS smoke rose
and the Budd lay gasping upon his side,
with great Jets of dark blood squirting
from his mouth.
The motion had been quicker than the
comprehension of those who saw it.
Buad yrithed a little and turned tr1fie
over; as he did his hand came up and
his revolver was in it, and ifs muZZle
spoke the desperados farewell to earth
that his pafalyzed tongue could not ut
ter. 1t was a self-cocking English
dragoon, and the spasm of fight that
fingered in Budd's trigger-inger after
the life had gone out OF the bullet mole
in his left bosom, made the hammer
strike twice as quick as you could zone" /"
.styo." With two fatal bullets in his
bowels. il was the Spaniard's turn TO lie
down now. Budd was. dying when
Don Joaquin's falling body struck the
floor The Don's bullet, round ounce
from a seven-inch rifled duelling-pistol,
had gone right through him, tearing a
big chasm out of the left side of his
heart and seyering the ventricle, and
struck the knee of Federal soldier who
was looking on behind him.
The Presbyterian-raised New Hamp-
shire boy was dying desperado's death
in the Texas tropics. His embittered
soul was on its winged way to be judged,
mayhap, according to the wrongs it had
suffered, as'well as those it had wrought.
The scarlet ribbon in his button hole was
soaking in the blood of the heart whose