The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-07-20

wended my way home i'll II far bet.
ter frame of mind than that with
which | had started the evening.
But i'll the early hours of the
morning the old horror of my posi-.
ton dawned upon me III all its real
ity.
The false beacon CT hope which
had buoyed up my spirits at the
close of tho previous evening now
presented itself TO me in the form
of an imbecile bet. l had for a short
period imagined that my fortunes
could he rebuilt by tho caprice of
race horse whose existence I had
not dreamed of II hours before, and
/ quickly realized that instead OF
improving my position l had mere
ly placed Il further e100 in jeopardy.
Yet it seemed strange that should
thus meet the rogue who sold me
the paper which lurcd me to my
folly. However, 1 reflected that,
being SO deeply i'll the mire, another
inch OF two as represented by the
e100 would not make SO much differ.
ence.
| But the game is not lost until it is
won, and determined to face mat
ters boldly, and when my broker
called at my Office to sound mo az
to my position l assured him, with
all the self assurance | could mus
ter, that The aspect of affairs caused
me no uncaSiness.
But the WEAKNESS of the day--the
feverish excitement that tool; pos.
session Of me as the hours rolled
on!
With my eyes fastened on the
clock | We tched tho hands slowly
creep to the hour fixed for the race.
And when the gong sounded IL,
| first stroke Of I started i'll my
chair as if had heard Il thunder
clap.
Now they are off and my fortunes
hang upon horse and jockey. III
my imagination I could hear the
! thud Of many hoofs as they spllrned
the ground in that wild scramble
toward the winning post.
Then half an hour later heard
the newsboys racing down the
street shouting with their brazen
lungs: "Speciali Winner of the In
ternationalr' And nauseating sick.
ness crept over me-my head spun
round and round as staggered out
and purchased paper.
With trembling hands laid it Oh
my desk, and for some minutes ]
eat there not daring to open it.
Then, composing myself with great
effort, opened the sheet and let my
eyes rest upon the fatal column.
Great heavens! Could l believe
my senscs2 There staring me il the
face was:
Binckfrlar
The paper dropped from my
nervcless hands and 1 fell back in
my chair with gasp.
My position was saved as if by
miracle.
At o'clock I went to tho Norfolk
hotel to meet Dick Hampton. and
found him with face as long az
the proverbial fiddle.
Jack, you lucky dog-but jos
always the way-a man spends the
best part Of his days studying horses,
and thinks he's found a good thing,
when up comes a greenhorn that
can't tell horse from Is hayseed,
spots an outsider and wins for.
tune"
well, look here, Dick, you
needn't grudge it to me. If Black
friar had lost, would have been
bankrupt tomorrow. When can ]
get the money!
GOOD heavens, man, you don't
mean TO say that all your luck was
on that horse9 Well, some people
ride forlorn hope and get home,
while others get thrown over the
rails. AS to the money, can give
you my check tonight and settle
with the boolxmaker tomorrow
And as soon as the bank opened
in the morning paid e3, 400 into
my account, and forwarded a check
to my broker to covor my weeks
losses.
From that day the market rose
steadily, and fortnight later ]
cleared out with a snug little s20,-
900.
Some six months after was leav-
ing my Office to go home to my lit
tie house at Richmond, where my
dear wife was awaiting me. The
evening wae raw and chill with
driving rain. Passing beneath the
light Of q street lamp, man ac-
costed me and begged for aims.
It was the man who had sold me
the post dated paper.
Full of curiosity, took him into
a public house near at hand, and,
having ordered some refreshmont, I
turned to him.
dc you remember I asked.