Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1894-07-12


back with"
"It's been pretty rough on you, Gill
bert"
"It has, and don't mind owning 1t
now. The hardest thing of all was to
keep myself from gambling away the
money as made it. Itwas easy enough
to rough it as regards other things, both
luxuries and the necessities of life, bat
it was confoundedly hard to keep away
from the gaming tables, which exist
there just as much as here. Thank
heaven, I did resist though, or shouldn't
be here now"
"Ah, my dear fellow, you won't be
long here in Paris before you'll give in
to your old habits. What can a man do
at the clubI But come along. We must
start now. want to introduce you to
my wife"
The two men got up and sauntered
along the boulevard to the Avenue de
l'Opera, where Jacques Rouval lived.
After dinner Rouval took his new
found friend into his smoking den,
tneIe 10 1ndulBe In cigar.
do you care to have a look in at
the club?" he asked him little later on.
"No, don't think do this evening.
You know, 1t is not cheerful after 10
years. absence to return to old haunts
which are filed with strangers and to
find all those one knows are no longer
there, and after the long list you told
me about at dinner time it seems to me
there is scarcely any one know left"
Rouval was not very delighted at this
decision. He was in the habit of going
to the club every evening. and spending
some hours at the card tables, and it
had become so fixed habit with him
that he felt restless and dissatisfied any
where else. He would like to ask De
Saumur to taIs hand with him, but
under the circumstances he scarcely
dared to. He kept casting furtive
glances at the little table in the corner
of the room, and at length De Saumur,
who had noticed his friends uneasiness
and who from experience guessed the
cause, suggested himself THAT they
should just have round or two at cards
to see how much he had forgotten in 10
years"
''Rnt ! thought you had quite given
up playing for ever and ever?" objected
his friend
"Yes, as a regular habit / have, but
1t is quiteanother thing to have game
quietly here like this
Rouval was only too delighted and
pulled the card table out with alacrity.
De Saumur played at first careless!y.
He had only proposed it out of con.
sideration to his friend, and he felt
rather bored. Rouval kept winning and
appeared SO contented with himself and
had such triumphant manner that De
Saumur found himself getting interest
ed and excited in spite of himself. The
more he lost the more persistent he be-
came. 1t was as though the old passion
of former days which for 10 years had
been kept in contlol by his strong will
had completely got the mastery of him.
At first the stakes had been insignificant,
but as he continued to lose he became
more and more desperate, until at last
the amount was getting SO serious that
Rouval did not wish to continue.
''But as have been the loser so far,
said De Saumur, ''you cannot refuse to
60 on surelyl"
1T is not for my own sake, but
don't like it, Gilbert. You are here at
my house, and you are playing desper-
ate stakes.'
well, that's my own lookout. It's
your turn to cut
Day was beginning to break, and the
two men were still seated at the card
table. They had played all night, and
now their eyes were fiery with excite
ment, and their hands trembled as they
handled the cards.
At last Gilbert de Saumur exclaimed,
"There, cannot go on any more!"
Rouval looked at him anxiously,
thinking that he was i'll, but he contin-
ued:
mo, I've come to an end, that's all.
cannot 60 on, because you have won
nearly every cent possess. I'll give
you check on my banker for it, and
that settles it"
A dead silence followed these words.
What was to be done? The play had
been strictly fair, and Rouval had won
1t fairly.
my dear fellow, said Rouval as De
Saumur finished writing out the check,
II cannot take it all. Keep something
for yourself.
II have $40 left" replied De Sau-
mur coldly. "That will be enough to
get back where I came from. Work is
better for me than fortune. l have
proved that twice. Thought now was
cured, but it appears was mistaken. l
suppose now l shall never see Paris
again. Goodby, Rouval."
And he got up, and opening the door
took his hat from the peg in the hall
and went down stairs, followed by Rou-
val, who accompanied him to the hall
door, and who, when he had closed it
after his friend, went back to his smok-
ing den and paced up and down the
room until it was broad daylight.
"Very odd," was the verdict at the
club the next evening. mot quite the
thing to take everything the poor fel-
low had worked 10 years for and SO send
him back to perpetual exile. Million.
Pertinent Inscriptions.
1t is quite an interesting thing to
learn that soma of nI1r host Ernruns