The times., 1898-03-06
THE MAGIC BIT OF SILVER.

Gomez"
We'll, my dear boy, what is it?''
Where did you get your money"
The question was an absurd one-it |
was almost impertinent But Gomez de |
Bonilla was an intimate friend of mine,
good fellow, and-we had dined. To
say truth, we had not only dined but
| wined, and it was over some excellent |
post-prandials in the shape of further
wine and fragrant cigars that | had |
asked the question. But l had long
wished to do so, and / will tell you
/ why.
Some two years before, Gomez was
! poor as a church-mouse. He was al
ways a good fellow; but then, you
know. there is a difference between
| good fellows rich and good fellows
poor. And. to my shame be it spoken
| ! think | liked him better rich than
poor. Well, as | said, he was almost
| destitute. He had a profession it is
| true-he was a journalist: but in Spain
the gains of the fraternity of the pen
are not large. What little he did earn
| went to the bad for he was an inveter-
| ate gambler
But from a poverty stricken journal
! ist he suddenly blossomed out into
man of wealth. He had the finest
| horses. he belonged to the most fash
| ionable club, he had the most luXurl-
| ously fitted town house, he had pur-
chased the country-seat of decayed
| grandee he had the best cook in Mad
| rid ana he moved in the best society
for, alas. even in Spain the golden key
| is beginning To open all portals. But do
not think from what | say that Gomez
was not a gentleman, for he came of
an excellent family.
Well. as / said, we had just finished
an excellent dinner, and over the wal
nuts and the wine / put my question:
Gomez, where did you get your
money!"
He looked at me thoughtfully, and
knocked the ash from his cigar.
Where did 1 get my money" he re-
peated. slowly. And what says Dame
Rumor concerning it, Pedro?"
There are all sorts of stories l re-
piled; 'some probable, some wildly inn
probable: some good -humored more ill
natured. You will pardon my frankness
if | tell you that | have heard some
people call your wealth il-gotten
gains whisper Of retired highwaymen,
and the like. There are others who
hint darkly at counterfeiting. Among
the lower classes there is widespread
belief that you have sold yourself to
the devil And I have even met intelli-
gent people who limited at supernatural
means
Perhaps they were right" was his
laconic reply.
/ stared at him.
Listen, and you may perhaps tell me
| whether the means We're supernatural
! or no | have never been able to de-
eide The reason that the source Of my
fortune has never been discovered was
because the only man who knew of it
left the city the day after--
He paused
The day after WHAT" ! queried.
We'll, 1 will begin al the beginning.
The story is a curious one, and should
| be told in sequence"
He lit a fresh cigar, and then began:
You knew me two years ago, when
was poor. You also knew, as did all
| my friends that / had a passion for
gaming. You would all Of you chorus,
when speaking of me, Poor Bon
liza, He has the worst of ViceS-he
is a desperate gambler You were all
wrong. 1 did not play simply for love
| OF it. / played because l was poor.
was not a gambler. l was Spectator.
/ had fixed upon a certain sum which
| considered a competence. | saw no way
of acquiring it by my profession. so 1
| devoted myself to the green cloth-how
assiduously you know"
He smiled a the expression of assent
which inyoluntarily fitted over my
countenance, watched the smoke
wreaths curling over his head for d mo-
ment, and continued:
One evening l was feeling unusually
blue. | never drank, as you know
that is, never To eXcess-and certainly
never to do what is called drowning
sorrow. My resource was the gaming
table. Unfortunately | had in my pos
session a considerable sum of money,
which had been intrusted to me by
friend for the purpose of paying some
debts; he had been suddenly called
away from the city. | entered the
gambling-h hell, and seated myself at
! the roulette table. Fortune was
against me; the few duros that be-
longed to me We're soon gone. Some
thing seemed to possess me that night:
was not myself. 1 did what l never
should have dreamed myself capable of
doing-I staked my friends money. I
staked it, and | lost it all.
| was about to speak.
DO not condemn me," he interrupt
ed; you could say nothing severer
than We're my self-reproaches. Long |
sat there, glaring at the other players.
AS | watched the ivory ball spin round,
my brain seemed to spin round too.
My senses seemed to leave me. l felt
as if life We're no longer dear to me.
Penniless and dishonOred, what was
there left to live for?
As these thoughts passed through
my working brain, the night Wore on,
The players dropped off, one by one
The tables were gradually deserted.
Soon there was but one left lighted
the roulette table before which l sat.
and at which one persevering CANISTER
was trying his luck. Finally he, too
Wearied, and / was left alone with the
3 banker. who was the proprietor of the
gambling hell
i Oh, | remember" l interrupted