The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1891-10-02
FIRST AND LAST.
Why One Night In a Gambling
House Cured the Doctor.

This is the story the doctor told me:
-When | left college after winning
all the honors there I was sent to Paris
to finish my medical education under
the care of a famous French surgeon
living and practicing in that gay city.
at was during my wildcat period.
am sorry to have To confess. when one
night paid my first visit 10 a gambling
house-and my last, for the experience
1 had taught me much needed lesson
and satisfied my curiosity forever in
that line.
The house in which / was intro
duced by a supposed friend was gOr-
geously arrayeG and a great game of
rouge-d-hoir was going on and which
knew not the first thing about
But with a young mans conceit in
creased 10y the wine which flowed free
and freely / found place at the table
and, instructed by my companion, COM
menced betting.
with greenhorn's luck kept win
ming and doubling the stakes in spite
of my guides endeavors TO make me
quit with what had before my Won
derful good fortune changed. Soon
the other players withdrew from the
game, leaving me alone against the
bank. The play had become intensely
exciting and / was the center of all
eyes. My companion had offended by
refusing angrily his advice to stop, 40
he would speak no longer on friendly
terIns-for which l neither cared nor
thought.
"A great pile of gold lay before me
on the table stacked against the banks
for the last deciding throw.
If ] won the bank was broken.
With my fools luck did win.
THE game was over and my pockets
bulged with their load of yellow French
coins, swept into them without count
ing.
Then more wine from the polite and
smiling keeper and my head swan and
things danced confusedly around me.
Il remember some one offering to
help me and saying l shouldn't risk
being murdered and robbed by going
home and telling me | could have bed
in that house where ! could sleep off
my wine and excitement and bc per-
fectly safe till daylight protected me.
Il remember, too, shaking his hand
and vowing eternal friendship and.
arm iIi arm going with him to a room
upstairs and getting into a bed and
hearing him wish me ban sOir, mO1,-
hT- llth SOIIlN CAOSc lhG NOoT anu
cave me.
Il must have fallen asleep immedi-
ately and slumbered not long. When
awol1e. though my head felt weak il
was clear, and in a few minutes | came
to myself bit and lay there trying to
think if all was dream or reality.
The room was handsomely fur
nished and lighted by gas jet turned
rather low.
~ picture hung on the wall at the
foot of the bed, which ! began to no
tice had four high posts reaching to
the ceiling and holding some sort of
top canopy extending over the whole
with short curtains at the sides.
The picture which | was watching
listlessly was figure of an old soldier
standing grimly, sternly and straight,
gazing. too, at me. After awhile / got
tired of the old fellow and shut my
eyes. When / opened them after some
minutes half doZIng my grim SEN
tInel's hat had disappeared. That
seemed strange, and closed my eyes
again When | looked the old chaps
head was gone.
II lay. puzzling- over the affair, and
wondered if my head was to be de-
pended upon yet. until, to make sure,
! stepped from the bed To the floor.
The first thing that struck me was
that the canopy of my bed looked
queer. IL seemed lower. and the four
posts holding il seemed To have pierced
through its corners and into the ceiling
above. While ] was trying 10 under
stand ] saw between the canopy and
the ceiling glistening. long. thick iron
rod, apparently grooved like an i'm
mcnse screw, and twisting 50 noiseless-
ly and slowly as to be scarcely per-
ceptible.
AT once it flashed on me that /
was in peril of some kind. and, though
badly startled, | managed to avoid
making a noise, while / tried to com
prehend what deviltry was going on.
''Soon / saw through il all. The
canopy was bogus-merely hiding a
soft mattress or something, which was
being forced gradually down by the
screw worked from the room above.
and was intended to catch aud smother
whoever slept on the bed, after winning
the gamblers gold and being drugged
with their wine, like myself.
Judging from the movements the
screw was making, j calculated half
hour must intervene ere my murderers
would pay me a visit-providing /
didn't bring an attack sooner by alarm
ing them
..Without a sound ! got a window
open and gazed out in the darkness.
The wind was blowing aud rslttling