Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1900-09-06

| off. everybody was pleased, and Tom
| and his bride went away to the south
| Of France. \ few more weeks rolled
by and Tom returned. There was to
| be a reception at their London house,
and the invitation which was sent me
was one which l could not well refuse.
In the evening l had the opportunity
| of a chat with Tom. We had gone out
on the balcony, which overlooked the
garden. and there l purposely made
reference to the superstition which he
had for the llama's coin.
Perhaps said 1, now that you
have gone unscathed all these years,
you are beginning to lose faith in the
potency of that prophecyT"
"Well, to tell you the truth" said
Tom, II am getting little shaky
about 1t, and when one begins to rea
son superstition on any subject is like
| ly to get knocked out 1t has struck
me that, after all, 1t may be but mere
foolery."
We entered the room once more, but
| was dying for smoke, and, making
some excuse, | slipped away TO the
smoking room. had been sitting there
about five minutes when Tom Morton
came in
What do you thinkT he said. my
wife has got this Mongolian story into
her head so much that she is perfectly
ridiculous. She has been telling every
body about II, and, of course, they are
all laughing, and the worst of it all Is
that she is laughing with them at me.
But come, come, old fellow. l want to
show you something"
rose, threw my cigarette end away
and followed him. We went along the
corridor to the drawing room, which
was crowded, and even as we entered
I heard Mrs. Morton's voice.
II really do believe it will be such
fun" she was saying. Here comes
Tom, and now we will try. A coin,
if you please, from each of you. Let
me see-hOw many are there here?-
20. Good! Then I want 26 coins.
Now, Tom," she said, take off that
wretched glove and let us demonstrate
that you can touch money with your
ungloved hand"
Tom was pale, and l saw his brow
shining with perspiration. he mutter-
ed something, but what it was was lost
in the laughter and banter which went
around the room. With quick, impul-
sIve movement, he drew off his right
glove.
Well" he said, and l saw his lips
wreathe into hard, unmirthful smile,
81 will take the coins just to show you
that l am not afraid"
Then, one by one, his wife counted
out the coins into his hand. Twenty
were already there. when, unable to
control the impulse which came over
me, l started up and cried: Drop 1t,
Toni Why challenge such thing as
that?"
He looked at me, and l saw how pale
and how stern was his face. He said
nothing to me. but merely turned TO his
wife with the whisper, $50 on!
"Twenty-one, %, %, "a, %. 26, or
Twenty l cried, what is
that, there are only &c people her, there
is a mis- But | could get no further.
Tom had staggered back, his body
shrunken in size. He fell to the floor.
4 deathlike silence fell over the as
semblage | strode over to my friends
PROSTATE form.
Tom was dead and cold, and in his
right hand there were 27 coins. l look
ed at the top one; it was German
piece, value 90 marks. l took it to the
light and gazed upon It. Across the
profile of Emperor William ii | saw
and then | knew that the llama's curse
at length had had effect.-Penny Pic
torial Magazine.