The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1891-05-21

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frightful idea: he was seized with a
mad, hysterical, monstrous desire
After glancing on all sides, to make
sure that he was alone in the deserted
street. he bent his knee, and carefully
outstretching his trembling hand, he
stole tho gold piece from the fallen
shoe! '.~
Hurrying then, with all speed, he re-
turned to the gambling house. scaled
the stairs two and three at q stride
and entering the accursed play-room
as the first stroke OF midnight was
sounding, placed the piece OF gold on
the green cloth and Cried
81 stake on the seventeen!"
The seventeen won.
With turn of the hand Lucien
pushed the thirty-six louis on to the
"red.'
The "red" won.
He lifted the seventy-two louis on
the same color; the "red" again won.
Twice he "doubled"- three times
had now before him a pile of gold and
notes and began to scatter stakes all
over the board; the "dozen," the ''col-
umn," the number" all the combi-
nations succeeded with him. His luck
was unheard Of supernatural. 1t
might have been imagined that the
little ivory ball dancing in the roulette
was magnetized, fascinated by, the
eyes of this player and obedient to
HIM. In dozen stakes he had recOv-
cred the few wretched thousand franc
notes, his last resources, which he had
lost at the beginning OF the evening
Now, punting with two or three
hundred louis at a time, and aided by
his fantastic vein of luck, he was on
the way to regaining, and more besides,
the hereditary capital he had squand-
cred in so few years, and reconstitut-
ing his fortune.
In his eagerness to return to the
gaming table, he had not taken off his
furcoat. Already he had crammed
and rouleaux of gold pieces; and, not
knowing where to heap his winnings,
he now loaded the inner and exterior
pockets OF his frock coat, the pockets
of his waistcoat and trousers, his
cigar case, his handkerchief
thing that could be made to hold his
money.
And still he played, and still he won,
like a mailman, like drunken man!
And he threw handfuls OF louis on to
the "picture," at hazard, with a ges-
ture OF certainty and disdain!
Only something like a red-hot iron
was in his heart, and he thought OF
nothing but OF the little mendicant
sleeping in the snow whom he had
robbed.
els she still at thes same spot? Sure
ly she must be still there! Presently
yes, when 1 o'clock strikes-I swear
it! I will quit this place. I will take
her sleeping in my arms and carry her
to my home; [ will put her in my
warm bed; I will bring her up, give her
a dowry, love her as if she were my
own daughter, care for her always, al
Ways!'
But the clock struck 1, and then a
quarter, and then a half, and then
three-quarters.
And Lucien was still seated at the
Internal table.
At length, one minute before 2
O'Clock, the keeper of the bank rose
abruptly and said in loud voice:
'The bank is broken, gentlemen
enough for today"
With bound Lucien was on his
feet. Roughly pushing aside the
gamblers who surrounded him and re.
garded him with envious admiration,
he hurried away quickly, sprang down
the stairs and ran all the way to the
stone bench. In the distance, by the
light OF a lamp he saw the little girl.
"God be praised" he said, ''she is
still there.
He approached her, he took her.
hands.
ooh! how cold she is, poor little
one."
He took her under the arms and
raised her so that he might carry her;
her head fell back without her awak-
ing.
How soundly children of her age
sleepn'
He pressed her against his bosom to
warm her, and, slezed by a vague in
quletude, and, with a view to rousing
her out of this heavy slumber, he
kissed her eyelids.
Then it was that he perceived with
terror that these eyeballs were half
open. showing half the eyeballs-
CLASSY, sightless, motionless. Upon
his brain flashed a horrible suspicion.
He placed his mouth close to that of
the little girl; no breath came from it,.
While with the gold piece which he
had stolen from this medicant Lucien
had won a. fortune at the gaming
table, the homeless child had died
died of cold!
Seized by the throat by the most
frlghtful of agonies, Lucien tried to
utter cry, and, in the effort which
he made, awoke from his nightmare on
the club settee, on which he had gone
to sleep little before midnight, and
whereth attendant who had Quilted
the house last had left him out of
charity.
The misty dawn of a December
morning was graying the window
panes.
Lucien went out in the street, pledged
his watch, took bath, breakfasted,
and then went to the recruiting office
and signed an engagement as
a volunteer in the. First regi-