The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-05-09

some charitable person, doubtless some
lady, had passed by, had seen on this
Christmas night the little wooden shoe, ly-
ing in front of the sleeping child, and, re-
calling the touching legend, had placed
there, with a secret hand, a magnificent of
fering, so that this poor abandoned one
might believe in presents made for the i'll
FAINT Savior, and preserve, in spite of her
misfortune, some confidence and some
hope in the goodness of Providence.
A good piece! 1t was several days of rest
and riches for the beggar, and Lucien was
onlthe point of waking her to tell her this,
when he board near his ear, as in an hallu-
oination, a voice-the voice of the Pole. with
its coarse drawing accent, almost whisper
ting: TITS nowtwo Gays since | stirred out
of thesclub, and for two days the seven
teen has never turned up; Til suffer my
hand to be cut off, if that number does not
turn up on the stroke Of midnight"
Then this young man of three and twenty,
descended from. q race of honest men, who
bore u proud military name and who had
never swerved fro4a the path of honor, con
cetved q frightful idea; ne was seized with a
mad, hysterioal, monstrous desire. After
Qlancing 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 the gold pieoe from
the fallen shoe!
Hhrrying then, with all his speed, he re-
turned to the gambling house, sealed the
stairs two and three at a stride, and enter
ing the accursed play-room as the first
stroke of midnight was sounding, placed
the piece Of gold on the green cloth and
cried:
Il stake on the seventeenth
The seventeen won.
With a turn of the hand Lucien pushed
the thlrty-s1x louis on to tho 'red.'
Tho .ree'' won.
He left the soventy-two louis on the same
color: the red" again won.
Twice he 'doUbled"-three times-al
ways with the same success. He had nov
before him q pile of notes and gold and
began to scatter stakes all over the board;
the dozen" the column" the number, y
Eli the combinations succeeded with him.
His luck was lnheard Of, supernatural. Ii
might have been imagined that the little
ivory ball dancing in the roulette was
magnetized, fascinated by the eyes of thi:
player and obedien to him. In u dozef
stakes he had recovered the few wretehed
Thousand franc notes, his last resources
which he had lost at the beginning of tn,
evening.
Now, punting with two or three hundred
louis at IA time, and aided by his fantastic
vein of luck, he was on the way to regain,
ing ana more besides, the hereditary CAPT
tai he had squandered in SO few years. ant
reconstituting his fortune.
In his eagerness to return to the gaming
table, he had not taken off his fur coat. Al
ready he had crammed the large pockets
with bundles of notes and rouleaux of golt
pieces; and, not knowing where TO heap hi
winnings, he now loaded the inner and ex
terror pockets of his frock coat, the pocket
of his waisteoat and trousers, his cigar case
his handkerchief-everything that could b
made to hold his money.
And still he played, and still he won likt
u naadman, like a drunken man! And h.
threw handfuls of louis on to the picture
Mt hazard, with a gesture of certainty ant
6isdain!
Only something like a Ied-hot iron VIA,