The Lamar register., 1902-09-24

ened again, and their clatter after so
long spell of silence was dreadful.
One man was quite unmoved. even
when the grim croupier smiled sar-
donically.
This was Jones.
He made another stake as coolly as
before. with a rouleau of gold covered
the full limit on a single number, and
again won
Confidence in Jones, which had
been scattered by his break, just as
coyey of partridge might, when fred
into, returned again.
Again he lost.
Confusion!
Why, the man after all, was play
Ing hit-and-miss game. just like the
rest of them.
Many of them breathed great sigh
OF relief. f-r with Monte Carlo smash
ed their desire to live would have
| been reduced to zero.
About this time attention began to
| be directed to the other end of the
| table.
The croupier's rake showed little
| piles of filthy lucre in that quarter
| with astonishing regularity, and sell
dom dragged any back.
Another Richmond in the field!
The excitement burst out greater
than ever.
And Merrick played on with just
the faintest sign of a smile upon his
resolute face, played on and won four
times where he lost only once.
a..
elbow of his friend-no one else, even
ROYALTY itself, could have had pas
sage opened to him through the dense
| ly packed audience, but they seem
| ed to recognize a superior being in
Jones. the master wizard of it all, and
| that he had right to be near his com
rade.
To Merrick the experience was one
he would never in all his life forget
Its novelty alone was enough to stamp
| it indelibly on his mind.
Between deals, he occasionally look
| ed up calmly and the faces along the
table were not the blur one might rea-
| sonably expect under the circum-
stances, with his heart beating like
trip hammer. and his mind devoted
to following the line of play marked
down in Darragh's brilliant system.
A few more moves must complete
the play for this night
Realizing that they were up against
the very toughest argument that had
| ever fallen upon Monte Carlo. the
| dealers were not at all anxious to con
tinue playing indefinitely.
The sooner they admitted the grave
fact that a third time the famous bank
must cry quits. the better for them.
Merrick had done well.
Not single slip or mistake had
been made. There was but unani
nous opinion among the nerve-racked
spectators that these two men really
held the game by the throat.
| If they could be bought off, the
future of Monte Carlo was assured,
since despairing players would take
new lease of life in the kowledge that
after all it was possible to eternally
win If one but knew the wonderful
plan by which each carefully arrang-
ed move was to be made.
The scenes of the previous night
were repeated. though upon larger
scale.
When the dealer stood and raised
his hand to announce that the bank
had again gone under, deathly ST.
lence hung over the dense crowd.
Then one man, a big-voiced Ameri-
can congressman, who had been
haunting the dragons den for a month
or more. against the prayers of his
pretty little wife, threw his silk hat
into the air excitedly. jumped on it
when it landed and roared out:
"Hurrah for Jones-he pays the
freight"
1t would be next to impossible to
adequately describe the scene that
followed.
Shouts and laughter and stentorian
cheers rent the air, while pandemo-
mum reigned-men shook hands,
others fell into the arms of friends,
and several women tainted dead away.
Few left the place.
The hour was still early. for the
play had been unusually bold and Wig
orous.
Another chapter had been closed in
Jones' account book, another page
lurned; but he seemed the same af-
liable, mid-mannered gentleman, not
10 be affected by flattery or threats.
Merrick heaved a genuine sigh of
relief when the elimination of his
play occurred.
The dreadful strain had told upon
him, of course, and now that it ha.
fallen aside he experienced momen-
tary weakness, which he speedily
shook off.
He had seen Constance just short
time before-surely the colonel had
waited to witness the rout of the enc