Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-09-05
Ny heart best as II it would burst whom

Do0o 80 ~ II WOulU OukSk WHOM
he shufied the ninth time. .sThere is,
IS; you've won againw Fckete struck
table with his fist so that the gold
jingled. and rose from his seat. '.If
you went on winning like this, old gen.
tleman, l might II an hour lose all tho
money in the neighborhood," he cried.
with q laugh, putting the remaining
pieces of.money in his pc ,ket.
trembling, l ventured to offer hina
the sum which 1 had won. Proud as o
hldalgo, he cast a glance of whitening
scOrn at me.
"What do you take me for, sir? Put
your money into your pocket, or I will
throw you and it out Of the window"
Good God! what was 1 to do with
this money, which had doubtless al
ready, been the cause of bloodshed, and
would probably lead eventually to my
w Instruction.
IN my trepidation, 1 threw it, large
sum as it was, to the gypsies. 1 re-
GREETED the act at once; it betrayed the
fact that 1 was rich, and that money
was no object to me. The gypsies
overwhelmed me with thanks, and Of
tered to play me anything 1 liked. 1
sent them to the Countess to be rid of
them. Without much pressing the
Countess, with a voice of a siren, set
up one Of her favorite Volkslieder, For
getting in the perfection of the melody
all the surrounding circumstances, +
applauded as madly as if 1 were in my
opera-box at Pesth. The bandit Cap
Jain applauded Just as heartily, and
volunteered to sing himself. He IA
voree US with one Of those indigenous
melodies which may be heard in every
village at the corner of every street.
The song ended, he turned to ME:
CHOW, old gentleman, it is vow
turn; we must have your song"
Twas in q sad quandary. I sing,-
under such circumstances, tool who.
except the song "Fare thee we'll, thou
silent house!" had never been able to
learn q tune in my Life.
IL can not sing-I can't sino nj
ALI"
Che fend OF a woman who had got
us into this fix always laughs immod-
erately when l absently begin to hum
an operate air. I have high, squeak.
ing voice. A peacock is more melodi-
ous.) n.
The Countess begged me in French
to sing something, as my refusal might
be'hurtful to all. That was all that
was wantingg-what was l to dop Con-.
vulsed with terror, my heart; transfxed'
as 1t YER with fear, [ commenced:
"Fare thee well, thou silent house."
sang in a soul-stirrlng, yet ear
splitting fashion. Painfully enough I
got halfway through my song, when
in my third strophe,' by an unlucky
mischance, I made an aeonizins
shrek. The Countess could nc longer
contain herself, but burst into a hearty
laugh. The bandits also began to
laugh; and, lastly, I myself Joined in
the chorus, though I had little cause
for merriment.
The dance was then renewed. The
Countess was u~nwearying. They
danced till dawn. Not till the suns
first rays began to peep through the
windows did she interrupt the festivi-
ties, and beg her partner, as it was
high time, to have the horses put to.
"We shall now seetheir true aspect"
thought I; may God have mercy on
our souls!"
The robber went out, reused the
coachmen and servants. had the horses
harnessed, and then announced that
the carriage was ready for our de-
parture.
s'Of course, they mean to murder US
on our way, thought I.
l got inside the carriage with more
alarm than when 1. alighted. 1t seemed
so suspicious to me that they did not
demand my purse. The chief of the
bandSat the same time mounted his
horse and accompanied us to the high
road; after directing us on our way,
and expressing hopes that we should
enjoy the ball, he took leave of us and
rode of to rejoin his companions.
Ididnot breathe freely till we reached
Zeried. 1 then began to reproach the
Countess with her very thoughtless con-
duct, and to remind her how great had
been the danger to which she was ex-
posed, from which my authority alone
had rescued her. Who knows what
might have happened to the Countess
had l not been with her? The humilia-
ton. too, OF dancing the csarda with
Betyars till daybreak!
She listened quietly to my reproaches;
when l had finished she said:
"Apropos of day break, dear Baron,
are you not sleepy"
s.Not in the least" I answered,
Grossly.
"Then be so good as to sing me the
song which you left unfinished"
You may imagine how quickly I he
came sleepy.
I had battered myself that the
Countess would fain purchase my 81
lence with some of the sweetest marks
of her favor. How mistaken 1 was.
We reached Arad at about eight o'clock
half an hour later all the fashionable
world were in possession of the details
Of the story. She even robbed me OF
this slight satisfaction
She was the belle Of the evening. She
did not dance, however, and thus failed
to follow up her latest triumph; yet she
was queen OF the ball. She pleaded
WEAKNESS as her excuse. I can well
believe she was weary after dancing
eighteen csardas in one night. ]
had not danced at all, yet l was con-
foundedly tired.
Ihastened to the card-room. II am
in luck to-day" Thought. They were
playing lansquenet at one table. "Now
I shall pluck you, mypigeons." Nicely
! r ~ ~ 17- 49,