The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1902-12-06
their motive might be, at any


the old soldier returned and sat down
opposite to me at the table, we had the
room to ourselves. / could see the e
croupier in a sort of vestibule which
opened out of it eating his supper in n
solitude. The silence was now deeper r
than ever.
A sudden change, too, had come over
the ex-brave. He assumed a por- ;
tentously solemn look, and when he
spoke to me again his speech was orna-
mented by no oaths enforced by no 8
finger swapping, enlivened by no apos- ,
trophies or ordinations
Listen, my dear sir,' said he in mys-
teriously confidential tones, listen to
an old soldiers advice. l have been to
the mistress of the house "a very
charming woman, with a genius for
cookery to impress on her the neces-
sity of making us some particularly
strong and good coffee. You must drink
this coffee in order to get rid of your
little amiable exaltation of spirits be-
fore you think of going home-you
must, my good and gracious frienl
With all that money to take home To-
night it is a sacred duty to yourself to
have your wits about you. You are |
| known to be q winner to an enormous |
extent by several gentlemen present to- |
night, who, in a certain point of view, 1
are very worthy and excellent fellows;
but they are mortal men, my dear sir,
and they have their amiable weak
nesses. Need l say more? All, no, no.
You understand me! Now, this is what
you must do-send for a cabriolet when
you feel quite well again, draw up all
the windows when you get into 1t and
tell the driver to take you home only
through the large and well lighted
thoroughfares. Do this, and you and
your money will be safe. Do this, and
tomorrow you will thank an old SOL
der for giving you word of honest
advice"
Just as the ex-brave ended his Grafton
in very lachrymose tones the coffee
came in, ready poured out in two cups.
NV attentive friend handed me one or
the cups with a bow. l was parched
with thirst and drank it off at draft.
Almost instantly afterward l was selz-
; ed with fit of giddiness and felt more
completely intoxicated than ever. The
room whirled round and round furious
ly; the old soldier seemed to be regu-
larly bobbing up and down before me
, like the piston of a steam engine. was
half deafened by violent singing III
my ears; q feeling of utter beWllder
ment helplessness. idiocy, overcame
me- rose from my chair, holding or
by the table to keep my balance, ant
+ stammered out that 1 felt dreadfully
1, | that I did not KNOW
how l was to get home.
u "My dear friend" answered the oil
) soldier, and even his voice seemed to o.
e bobbing up and down as he spoke
Il my dear friend, it would be madnes
to go home in your state. You would o
+ sure to lose your money. You Nigh
u be robbed and murdered with the grea
" est ease. l am going to sleep here.
eu YOU sleep here too. They make up cal
III ital beds in this house. Take one, slet
Wy off the effects of the wine and go hon
re safely with your winnings tomorrow
'i u tomorrow, in broad daylight"
*! had but two ideas left-one, that
IL! must never let go hold of my handke
III chief full of money; the other, that
~ must lie down somewhere immediate
ay and fall off into a comfortable slee
w So agreed to the proposal about II
u bed and took the offered arm of the o
- soldier, carrying my money with. II
ny disengaged hand. Preceded by Il
-, croupier, we passed along some pa
III sages and up a fight of stairs into II
"s bedroom which / was to occupy. III
iae ex-braye shook me warmly by Il
~ hand. proposed that we should brea
Is fast together and then. followed by Il
!" croupier, left me for the night.
-SS l ran to the wash hand stand, dra1
some Of the water in my jug, pour
the rest out and plunged my face in
Sn, it; then sat down in a chair and tried
n'' compose myself. l soon felt bett'
= The change for my lungs from t
eei fetid atmosphere of the gambling roc
III to the cool air of the apartment l NJ
occupied, the almost equally refreshi
ole' change for my eyes from the glarl
'lns paslights of the 'salon" to the di
OIL quiet flicker of one bedroom candle, a
the ed wonderfully the restorative ehects
lie cold water. The giddiness left me,
ner I began to feel little like reasona
ohs being again. My first thought was
the risk Of sleeping all night in ga
lent bling house; my second, OF the ;
my greater risk of trying to get out al
ray! the house was closed and of going no
con, alone at night through the streets
the Paris with a large sum of money alb
RS me. 1 had slept in worse places u
ev- this on my travels, so / determined
lock, bolt and barricade my door
of take my chance till the next mornin
If Accordingly 1 secured myself aga
rain all-intrusion, looked under the bed
vine into the cupboard, tried the faster
fore of the window and then, satisfied
imu- I had taken every proper precaut
EN- pulled off my upper clothing, put
Was light. which was a dim one, on
ered hearth among a feathery litter OF
maz- ashes and got into bed with the h'
kerchief full of money under my
pripd