Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1895-12-27
AN UNLUCKY NUMBER

| Of 1S- was seated with my friend, Cap
tain p, ut the open window of his room
when the door was thrown open and in
walked an old soldier of the name Of Sang.
He showed us Il lottery ticket, which he
said he had found secreted in the back of
book which he had bought the day be-
fore at one of the bOokstalls. l took the
piece of paper and examined it. 1t was for
500, coo and would be drawn for in five
weeks time
Captain F., leaning out of the window,
with his chin resting on his hands, had
scarcely noticed the entrance of the old
man, but whom called him and held the
scrap of flimsy paper out toward him he
turned terribly pale and sank back into
his seat.
mo. 53!' he murmured, aghast.
Not another word could we get out of
him. He sat pale and dumb, like ono
turned into stone. Mr.. Sang placed the
ticket inside his pocketbook and muttered
loud enough for US to hear:
Conc hundred thousand dollars! Why,
that is II fortune! But an old fool like me
will never win"
"You will whip suddenly cried the
captain in strange, low tones, which made
us both start.
Glow can you tell?" whispered the old
man eagerly.
81 want You to get rid of that ticket, for
as sure as we are living men you will be
the loser in the end"
"Ah! Perhaps You would like to secure
the ticket, said the old fellow, with a
peculiar smile,
Tho captain only shrugged his Shout
ders and turned t. the window
81 know" said Sang, that 1 could get
q good sum for this ticket if It were known
l had it for sale However, as the captain
is so positive it will be drawn will retain
the ticket and run the risk of being tho
loser. One hundred thousand dollars
Why l see what it is-the captain is jeal-
Gus! Ha, haI'
He went out, and rs he descended the
stairs heard him mulnbling:
"You will be the loser in the end
What can the captain mean, l wonder?"
He gained the street, and l could hear no
more.
l turned to Captain p. He was standing
silent and motionlOss at the window.
For Il long time l sat watching him,
standing there 50 pale and silent, all the
NllllC ltlShlAi5 my blttlll llON w dbCOuub
for his strange conduct on seeing the
number of the lottery ticket-No. 3d.
What painful reColloctions did these two
figures recall to his mind? l asked myself
the question over and over again, but l
still remained in the dark.
All at once he closed the window and
simply said, as if speaking to himself:
"There can be no doubt about it No.
50 is an acCursed number!"
81 do not understand you, captain" 1
said, for began to feel curious.
He remained silent for some time as if
in deep thought, and 1 did not interrupt
him.
LISTEN" he said suddenly, land you
can judge for yourself as to the truth of
my statement" He lit a cigarette and
drew his chair to the table.
eleven years ago." he began, "my
father, although considered to be very
sensible man, invested a sum Of money in
lottery. His ticket was drawn, and he
became possessed of 100000. He was
fortunate. So everybody said. l, too,
thought so at the time. One evening he
entered one Of the gambling saloons, and
becoming fascinated by the play he lost all
his ready money in few hours. Then
all his property went, and when he arose
from the table at midnight he was beg
gar. Maddened by his losses and rendered
insane by the knowledge of the grief of his
family, he shot himself through the heart
His ticket was No. 53V'
"Yot L cannot see how that goes to
prove your statement" l said. "Tho
same thing could happen with any num-
ber."
True he replied. "Iattached no i'm
pOrtance to the number at the time Four
years went by, and had almost forgotten
No SO, when friend of mine in poor cir
cumstances managed to buy lottery tick
et He won, like my father 500, 900.
Poor fellow! 1t was the price Of his reason.
The sudden rise to wealth turned his
brain, and he is now an inmate of an asy-
lum. Now you will understand me when
l tell you his ticket was No. 53l'
shuddered, but remained silent.
"YOu can have an idea," he went on,
"as to the state of my feelings on seeing
poor Sang in possession Of lottery ticket
bearing the fatal No. 53l"
l could answer nothing. To me it
seemed inexplicable.
The day of drawing slowly came round,
and, as the captain had foretold Sangs
ticket was drawn. No. 53 was announced
the winnerl
When the captain heard Of 1t, he shook
his head and murmured:
"Wait Waltz
Sang forsook Hooley street and bought
for himself nice little villa. He was
talked Of as being a lucky man and was
envied by all except Captain p.
"You will be the loser in the end, 1" the
captain had said. But now 1 began to
think he was mistaken.
One morning scarcely three months
after the drawing Captain p. placed
newspaper before me and without word
pointed out certain paragraph read
with almost stifled heart that o thief had
entered Sangs house the night before, and
while searching for the money, which was
believed to be seoreted in the house, he
aroused the owner, whom he stabbed to
DEATH
The captain was right. Sang was the
loser.
There is solution to every mystery
Can you solve the mystery Of No. 30?
Captain p. and myself confess ourselves
boi1laI