Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1898-11-19

alone in deserted street, he bent
his knee, and, carefully out stretch
ng his trembling hand, he stole the
gold piece from the fallen shoe!
Hurrying, then, with all his speed,
he returned to the gambling house,
scaled the stairs two and three at a
stride, and entering the accursed
play-room as the first stroke of
midnight was sounding, placed the
piece OF gold on the green cloth, and
cried:
81 stake on the III"
The II won.
With turn of the hand Lucien
pushed the So louis to the cred"
The "red'' won.
He left the p louis on the same
color. The "red" again won.
Twice he "doubled"-.three times
always with the same success. He
had now before him a pile of gold
and notes, and began to scatter
stakes all over the board. ALI his
bets were fortunate. His luck was
unheard Of, supernatural, 1t might
have been imagined that the little
ivory ball dancing in the roulette
was magnetized, fascinated by the
eyes of this player, and obedient to
him. In dozen stakes he had re-
covered the few wretched thousand
franc notes, his last resources, which
he had lost at the beginning of the
evening.
Now, stalking 200 or 800 louis at
a time, and aided by a strange run
of luck, he was on the way of regain
ing, and more, besides, the heredi-
tary capital he had squandered in
SO few years, and reconstituting his
fortune.
In his eagerness to return to the
gaming table, he had not taken off
his fur coat. Already he had crammed
the larger pockets with bundles of
notes and rouleaux of gold pieces,
and, not knowing where to heap his
winnings, he now loaded the inner
and exterior pockets of his frock
coat, the pockets of his vest and
trousers, his acknowledgements
thing that could be made to hold his
money.
And still he played, and still lie
won, like mailman, like drunken
man!
Only something like a red hot
iron was in his heart, and he thought
of nothing out of the little mendi-
cant sleeping in the snow, whom he
had robbed.
sis she still at the same spotY
Surely she is still there? Presently
yes, when one O'Clock strikes-I
swear i'll / will quit this place. I
will take her sleeping in my arms
and carry her to my home. I will
put her into my warm bed. / will
bring her up, give her dowry, love
her as if she were my own daughter,
care for her always, always!"
But the clock struck one, and then
q quarter, and half, and three
quarters.
And Lucien was still seated at the
Internal table.
At length, one minute before two
O'Clock, the keeper of the bank arose
abruptly and said in loud voice:
"The bank is broken, gentlemen
enough for today"
With bound Lucien was on his
ieet. Roughly pushing aside the
gamblers who surrounded and re-
garded him with envious admiration,
he hurried away quickly, sprang
down the stairs. and ran all the way
to the stone bench. In the distance
by the light of the lamp he saw the
little girl.
"Heaven be praisedl' he said.
"She is still there"
He approached her. He took her
hands.
"Oh, how cold sue is, poor little
one!i
He took her under the arms and
raised her, SO that he might carry
her. Her head fell back without her
awaking.
SLOW soundly children of her age
sleep"
He pressed~her against his bosom
to warm her, and, seized by vague
disquietude and with view to rous-
ing her out of this heavy slumber,
he kissed her eyelids.
Then it was that he perceived with
terror that these eyelids we're half
open, showing the eyeballs-glassy,
lightless, motionless. Upon his
brain flashed a horrible suspicion.
He plsced his mouth close to that
of the little girl. No breath cane
from it.
While With The gold piece, which
he had stolen from the meudicant,
Lucien had won a fortune at the