The sun. (Fayetteville, N.C.) 1883-188?, 1883-09-26
Literary.
The Gamblers Talisman.

Some years ago. as you are prob
ABLY aware" said the jeweler, there
was man who belonged to the sport
ing fraternity Of Chicago named
Smith Crawley. He was a profession
al gambler and had the name Of be-
ins a very successful one. He al
wavs wore in his shirt-bosom a large
stud with an opal setting-the finest
Gem of the kind that | had ever seen,
and one that | was so anxious to pos
sess that | offered him a high price
for it. He would not part with it
on any consideration. He claimed
that he owed all his success at the
gambling-table to that opal; that it
was an unfailing talisman, which in
dictated by it's color and brightness
that luck was in store for him. He
invariably consulted it when sitting
down to a game of cards. IL his
luck was bad, the gem was a dull
red color; but If success awaited him,
it sparkled with various bright tints.
[ don't want you to think | took
Crawley's word for this. My inter-
est in this particular opal was so
great that on several occasions | ac-
companied him to his resorts, at his
own solicitation, to test the truth of
his assertion. | found that what he
had told me was absolutely true; that
the amulet actually underwent a
change as he had stated, in proper
ton as his luck changed. IF it was
merely a coincidence, the unvarying
repetition was something wonderful.
"One night l went with him to a
well-known gambling house on
Clark street. The game had no fas-
cination for Inc, for | never played;
but Crawley was a pleasant fellow to
pass a ! leisure hour with, and, besides,
l had quite given up the hope Of in
ducing him to part with his favorite
stud:. The talisman indicated to him
Il favorable condition, of things, and
Crawley took a hand in a game Of
poker with the proprietor Of the house
and several other men. | stood near
his chair and watched the game. The
stakes were unlimited and the bets
ran high. Fortune favored Crawley
from the first, as we knew it would.
| glanced TRANQUILITY at the opal; it
seemed to shine with increased bril-
liancy each moment until it glowed
and sparkled and scintillated with a
variety of radiating lights that were
beautiful in the extreme. / had new
er seen anything like it; its effect on
me was something like the charm of
a serpent as | remember, and found
it difficult to remove my eyes from
it for a moment. | was the only per-
son in the oom except the owner
himself who knew anything about
the alleged potency of this gem.
Crawley never revealed the secret to
any of his fellow gamblers, as that
would have warned them against
playing with him. He WOE constant
ly, was in a talkative humor, and his
opponents were silent, with that
white intense look of calm excite
ment Il don't know what else to call
it, which [ have often noticed in the
faces of gamblers when engaged in
an absorbing game. Suddenly there
a sharp, swapping sound that
was heard all over the room. Craw-
ley dropped his cards and sprang to
his feet, as pale as death. What had
happened 2 The opal had bursted-
had gone to pieces like a miniature
bombshell-and out Of it's gold set
ting rolled on the floor in a dozen
fragments Crawley, after recover
ing from the first shock, which SEEM
ed almost to stun him, gathered up
his gains and left the saloon without
a word"
Where is he now ?"
dead. | saw him but once after
the collapse of the opal, but luck had
left him. He was drawn into a bar
room quarrel in Deadville and died sin
his boots" for his pluck didn't de-
sert him when his luck did,"
DEATH OF JUNIUs BRUTUs BOOTH.
T,,,o Rr,,&uo Roofb 1,o1 ,oooo |