The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1898-12-15

the voice of the Pole, with it's coarse,
drawing accent, almost whispering:
Its now two days since stirred out
of the club. and for two days the
Seventeen has never turned up. III
suffer my hand to be cut off if that
number does not turn UP on the stroke
of midnight"
Then this young man of ,hrse-and-
twenty, descended from a race of hon
est men, who bore a proud military
name, and who had never swerveG from
the path Of honor, conceived a fright
:ul idea. He was seized with a mad,
hysterical, monstrous desire. After
glancing on all sides, to make sure
that he WAS alone in a deserted street,
he bent his knee, and, carefully out
stretching his trembling hand. he stole
the gold piece from TIE fallen shoe!
uurrying, then. with al! his speed.
scaled the stairs two and three at
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:
II stake on the IT,
The II won.
With a turn of the hand Lucien
pushed the &c louis to the red"
The "red" won.
He left the 72 louis on the same color.
The 'red" again won.
Twice he doubled times
always with the same success. lie had
now before him a pile of gold and
notes, and began to scatter stakes all
over the board. All his bets were for
tunate. His luck was unheard Of,
supernatural. |, might have been i'm
agtned that the little ivory ball dane
ing in the roulette was magnetized
fascinated by the eyes of this player,
and obedient TO him. In dozen stakes
he had recovered the few wretchtd
thousaud-franc notes. his last re-
sources, which he had lost at the begin
ming of the evening.
Now, stalking 200 or 300 louis at
time, and aided by a strange run Of
luck, he was en- the way Of regaining.
and more, besides, TIE hereditary cap
ital he had squa ndered in SO few years.
and recorstituting his torture.
In his eagerness to return to the
gaming table, he had net taken off his
fur coat. Already te had crammed
the larger pockets with bundles of
notes and rouleaux of gold pieces, and
not knowing where to heap his win
nings, he now loaded the inner and ex
terror pockets of his frock coat. the
pockets of his vest and trousers, his
handkerchief-every:hing that could
be made to hold his money.
And still he played, and still he won,
like 4 madman, like q drunken man!
Only something like a red-hot iron
was in his heart, and he thought Of
nothing but of the little merdican.
sleeping in the snow. whom he had
| robbed.
as she still at the same spot? Sure
~ she is still there? Present!y-yes,
when one o'clock strikes-I swear it!
l will quit tnis place. l viii take her
sleeping in my arms and carry her to
my home. will put her into my warm
bed. | will bring her up, give her a
dowry, love her as if she were my owa
daughter care for her always. al
ways!"
But the clock struck one, and then a
quarter, and half, and three quar-
| ters.
| And Lucien was still seated at the
internal table.
| At length, one minute before two
O'Clock, the keeper of the bank rose
abruptly and said in loud voice:
"The bank is broken, gentlemen
enough for today"
With bound Lucien was on his
feet. Roughly pushing aside the gam
blers who surrounded and regarded
| him with envious admira tion, he hur-
ried 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 praised!" he said. "she
is still there"
| He approached her. He took her
hands.
"Oh, how cold she Is, poor little
one!"
| He took her under the arms and
raised her, so that he might carry her.
Her head fell back without her awak-
ing.
"How soundy children of her age
sleep"
He pressed her against his bosom to
warm her, and, seized by a vague dis
quietude and with a view to rousing
her cut of this heavy slumber, he
kissed her eyelids.
Then it was that he perceived with
terror that these eyelids were hall
open, showing the eyeballs-glassy
lightless. motionless. Upon his brain
flashed horrible suspicion. He placed
his mouth close to that of the little
| girl. No breath came from it.
While with the gold piece, which
he had stolen from the mend?cant, Lu.
cien had won a fortune at the gam.
ing table, the homeless child had died
died of cold
At the present time Lucien Hem is
a lieutenant in the First regiment OF
Chasseurs d'Afriuue, He has oulv his