The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1897-02-05

TIE OmnlVerOuS nav OF the great gam
bling Mecca, and the mechanical move.
ment of the Unsuitable rake seemed tc
harrow my vitals.
1t | had any superstition it was the
result Of heredity. No old nurse OF
foolish school companion ever sought
to impress me with the mysteries thai
cloud reason until it seeks explanation
in the supernatural. l do not even re.
call ever hearing that dreams go by
contraries. Yet l had not thought
over that dream for a day before I haG
an unalterable desire to visit Monte
Carlo for the purpose of restoring what
my fiance had lost. I would not ap-
ply to him or to my father. This was
not because of their impaired fortune
but because I could not defend the re.
solve. I had a. family physician t.
whom I went for funds and who wa
willing to respond without asking an
questions that would have embarrassed
me- He went farther and assumed the
professional responsibility of sending
me abroad, though he could never ex
plain why he thus compromised his
conscience.
When I reached what seems to me
one Of hell's principalities, I felt as on
going into battle. All my surround
ings were familiar. l passed through
the glittering attractions as though
they had been a part of my whole life
I could not have delayed to scan the
daily papers or to avail myself of the
fine stationery that suggested a duty
to those left behind. The fever of thu
gambler was upon me, and yet l knew
nothing of gambling. Entering thu
Hateful rooms, l passed the trente-et
quarante table. 1t might be surer, bu
My fight was to be a Waterloo, will
the role of Napoleon assigned to tn
bank.
After confidently seating myself
played with an abandon to a%stonisl
even the stiocal feeders Of the tiger.
no combination was tried as the resul
of any previous thought or sugges
ton. | was an autOmatOn with eyes
placing my money as the divinity scat
ters the scented blossoms. When
goodly heap of gold was in front o
me an old Prussian officer made al
elaborate apology for addressing tn
handsome young American, but he ha'
seen so many give back a fortune afte
winning it. The devilish fascination o
the game was the chief dependence o
it's hackers. Aside from chances il
their favor, %infatuation was their chic
reliance. Would I not stop Will
Dame Fortune was so generous?
But I played day and night with tn
regularity of planetary movement.
O and won till the corps of regular
we're following my plays and sharin
in my prosperity. When I appeared
seat was given me as though I had
proprietary right, while the poo
wretch who had given the place his a
was ruthlessly put aside. At tn
wheel or at the table I seemed to die
tate the course of fortune, and l ha
more than enough to re-establish tn
two men I loved best.
Oue morning L aWOke WIFI d VlVl
impression of a dream that gave me
clear title to the little principality an
all it's belongings. St%raightway I cam
home as nearly as the crow flies as tn
facilities of steam will permit. I al
no more ,superstitious than before a
this happened, and there is nothin
uncanny about the little mes that ca
Charley papa" I only know whs
happened.
A1:on, o-l tho I9,JJo+