The Kalispell bee. [volume] (Kalispell, Mont.) 1900-192?, 1902-05-14

told me Enthusiastically when the in
fernal bit Of ivory narrowly missed his
numbers.
In half an hour not one of them had
won, and the croupier had changed the
last of the notes from the small roll
which had been tightly clinched in the
young mans left hand. His last supply
of frank pieces quickly vanished, and
he began to bet petit monnaie" from
his pockets He had a surprising guam
tity of silver, and whenever 1 fancied
he had come to the end of it he would
thrust a nervous hand into another
pocket and bring forth the value of one
more wager.
l think, however, that his very last
frank piece was on the board when
the croupier called 80. The young man
had upon this number the value of 81,
the smallest sum that may be bet at
Monte Carlo. When the bet had been
paid, he had $50 francs, or $50. With
this encouragement he laid down his
money more literally. and almost i'm
mediately won again upon 81.
Then l could see in his eyes that hope
was alive in him. 1t always seems sc
natural that fate should relent. The
element of pity in a human heart is
shocked by the brutality of chance and
is very slow to believe that the ulti'
mate intention can be bad. 1t may have
seemed only fair to this young gentle.
man that he should have turn of luck
upon his last coin and should win
enough to recompense him for his suf.
ferings. He wiped the sweat from his
brow and went into the silly struggle
with new courage.
But the little ivory ball that cared
nothing for him or for his sacred obi.
cations to his wife refused to perform
the small service that was requisite.
Instead it tantaliZed him by falling
into II, which is on one side of 49, and
then into 20, which is upon the other
side of it. And l could see the poor fel-
lows heart leap in his bosom.
Watching this performance, l got my
first comprehension of the gambling
passion, which has for its basis fatu.
Gus pugnacity; an aimless, agonizing
resistance to an impalpable foe. At the
outset | wished this man to stop play
| ing. knew that he was doing a foolish
| thing At the last / merely wished him
| to win, and saw his coin dwindle with
no more rational feeling than sorrow
| and wrath that he must stop, give up.
| go away beaten.
l remembered hearing that an Eng
| lish nobleman. Lord Arrelsford, whose
wealth had been byword on the con-
tinent since the recent death of his I'M
Gle, had won $4,000 francs on the day
before our arrival. Why could not such
| luck come to this man who needed II
rather than to that Crusus to whom
| ten times the sum would be of no i'm
portance? When one asks why, why,
why, he is beginning to be a gambler,
| for a sane man knows there is no why
in the matter.
"That man is losing more than he can
afford" whispered Wilmot. II don't
like the look Of him."
Nor l." was my rejoinder. Con
found those numbers! Why don't they
conner
"They won't show again." said Will
mot, with the confidence of an expert
enced gambler who is always deceived
with the notion that he has some small
insight into the ways of chance. "He
is on his last legs"
81 don't think he has another franc
in his pockets" said l, ''but it looks as
If he were going to make another
search"
$50 you've noticed that hand Of his,
Ell? It's lowering around his hip peck
ct, and it's not money he has there"
"You don't mean
! ~ mean just that" whispered Will
, mot. HE wouldn't be the first man
: who's shot himself over that table
} The croupiers are watching him."
Gracious heavens" | exclaimed
: Ibid you see his wife,"
Wilmot nodded, with his eyes full OF
, meaning.
This is a terrible place." he said
edge over little nearer to him, and
1 if he loses his next bet look out"
p The croupier called 5. Our friend had
q three coins remaining. He covered 81