Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1875-02-06
MARK SHIPLEY'S ATONEMENT.

1cliOW We NszstoppeQ IN 10 carry
you off with us Y on know you prom
ised long ago to take a look in at
Maason's. and we won't let you of. So
put on your hat and come along"
Mark shook his head: You must
excuse me. Itwas, as you. say, long
ago when made that promise, and my
opinions have changed somewhat;
moreover, Mason was not then the
regular gambliBg-house it is now. Be
generous and give me back my promise,
boys. | don't wantit said that | ever
entered such a place."
For reply. his friends burst into up
roarious laughter.
After some remonstrance, Mark suf-
fered himself to be persuaded to ac-
company his friends, feeling in honor
bound to do so, since they would not
release him from his promise; for it
had always been hispride that his word,
once passed, had never been broken.
Maason's was a so-calied private
gambling-house, and open to the up
per classes. Several gentlemen were
gathered about one of the numerous
tables, deeply absorbed in the game of
T0gHe-et-nclr..
Our three friends looked on for a
while in silence, and then Burton and
Hawer drew nearer, and each staked a
small sum. They won, and again
risked larger sum-again fortune ia
vOred them; and then-alas for hu-
man nature and human resolution !
Mark Shipley, CARED away by the ex-
citement of the moment, forgot the
lesson of his fathers past. and threw
down npoh the table golden coin.
"Hurrah, Shipley!" cried Burton.
We'll done You are true man,
for all your squeamishness. You see
these things don't look SO bad when
you are right close to them. The
rouge-et-noir tables are very tasty
not at all repulsive.
But Mark already regretted his i'm
pulsive act. "Ah, Burton, he said.
there is the whole trouble in a nut
she'll 1t is because gambling looks so
harmless ut first that so many noble
hearted fellows are ruined by it.
This he spoke in all earnestness and
yet few moments later, when his gold
returned TO him doubled in amount, he
staked it again it came back to him,
four times the amount it first started
forty dolla.s instead of ten.
Try it again, Shipleyl' cried Haw-
ar. Down with it on the noir.
No, on the rouge; :" and Marx, with
flashing eyes and flushed cheeks, laid
down his forty dollars on the spot re-
ferred to. Again he won, and eighty
dollars were handed him by the banker
"a clear gain Of seventy.
What a splendid run of luck, Ship
leyr' cried Burton. Double, triple
the amount; you're sure to winl
Mark hesitated, but the reckless
fascination of the game was in the as
cendant, and he risked the larger sum
suggested by his friend, placing at this
time on the inverse, and then he
waited with breathless eagerness for
the result. 1t was against him; but
so far from checking his wild career,
it seemed rather to incite him to furth-
er risks.
1.-Two hundred dollars on the R0ir n
A moments suspense, and again he
lost.
As this result was announced Mark 5
face grew pale, and with a shock he
awakened to a full appreciation. not
only of the debt be had incurred, but
of the sin he had committed-of the
self-imposed VOW he had broken.
Faint aud sick atheart, he gave his note
for the sum due Manson, and then bid
ding his friends a brief good night,
hastened homeward.
As may be readily imagined, his re-
Elections were far from pleasant. Aside
from the reproaches of his conscience,
the sum he had lost was by no means
an inconsiderable one and his salary
as private secretary to a wealthy bank
or (no other than his intended father
in-law) could i'll withstand this heavy
draft upon it. Moreover, his next
quarterly payment would not be due
for a month TO come, and he had but
very little money on hand.
IF Maason will wait till this month
Is out" he thought, Il can weather
the storm | have brought on myself,
and thcn"-he raised his hand sol
emnly towards heaven-"I will never
again enter a gambling house or en-
gage in any game of chance, so help
me God n
If Mason will wait" Mark had
said to himself, but Mason would not
wait. No promise, no security, would
satisfy this man, who, destitute of hon.
or himself, could not believe of its ex-
istence in others. Money in good solid
cOin-this alone would content him.
Day after day he intruded himself into
young Shipley's apartments; and at
length one day grew so violent that
Mark, to get rid OF him for the time,
told him to come on the morrow, and
he would endeavOr, by all possible
means, to have money ready for him
Very we'll SIT" said the man as he
turned toward the door, I'll come to-
morrow, as you say but if that money
is not forthcoming, L will 90 straight IL
Mr.. Morton, and tell him what a nice
son-iu-law he's going have. You
know him as well as | do, and | am
more mistaken than | ever was in my
life if he don't cut you adrift for this
business the moment he hears of it, so
you'd better get the money ready and
keen it all from him."
This was early in the morning, and
soon, after, Mark walked down to the
bank, thinking it all over with sink
ing heart. He could not raise the sum
required. Burton aud Hawar were
unable to lend it, and to no other
friends could he apply.
SO, on the morrow, all would be
over, and his brief, bright dream of
love at an end, and in its place sorrow
and disgrace.
lie had brought it all on himself,
too. and this knowledge made his
thoughts all the more bitter, for he
felt that he deserved the misfortuneS
which were thronging about him-hc
was not worthy to call sweet Jennie
Morton by the sacred name of wife.
The day wore on; aud, as the hour
for closing the bank drew near, Mr..
Morton rose from his chair to depart,
but at the Office door he suddenly
paused.
II had nearly forgotten, Mark
Just look in my desk-here is the
key-and you will find four hun
bred dollars in cash that | wish
YOU would lock up in my private vault
You will be up this evening, of course?
Jennie expects you; SO good-by for
the present..
Left alone, Mark opened the bank
er's desk and gazed intently on the
coarse bag which contained the gold,
HIS checks grew deathly white, and
his frame shook like an aspen leaf
Ue INIT forth his hand and touched the
ltS -, L. hacl- nc thornh stnnr