The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-02-26

even if, for once in way. he had
to be fly TO gain his end
So hand or so later, when the pot
had been opened and promptly raised
by the fat man, the other gambler in
the game noticed a fieck of Eyrie's
left eyebrow which caused him to
drop his cards as though they burnt.
Eyrie glanced at The fat man and went
his raise better by a stack OF chips
| representing many dollars The fat
man Sobered somewhat. considered
land laughed a trifie constrainedly as
he pushed in the requisite chips.
Eyrie's strong, expressive, delicate
white hands held the cards ready for
the draw. The fat man took two
cards, turning them over as they
Ecame, a seven and nine Of dia-
monds.
Eyrie, his eye fixed like blade Of
steel in the forehead of the fat man
dealt himself two cards, the '.hip,'
flip. as they left the pack almost SIM
ultaneous. and no eye save that OF his
friend across the table grasped for a
second the suspicion of the fact that
two aces had been extracted from the
deeps of the pack.
The tat man bet q single white
bean" Eyrie raised the bet by FIVE
| blues. The fat man, looking at the up
turned seven and nine of diamonds,
raised that by ten.
Now, Eyrie had discarded q nine
and at that moment his friend
flashed" him ceVen from. the dis
cards. With three aces. Eyrie felt
that he had q "cinch.' Counting the
chips he had left and the bills under
| them, he pushed II all into the pot.
'One hundred and fifty-fve," he de-
clared dispassionately.
The fat man, from the mountains
of his winnings. counted out the
amount In blues and called"
Eyrie exposed his three aces and
made half-perce eptible movement TO
take the pot, but the laugh OF the fat
man was like the gurgling OF happy
| waters. He turned over his cards, six,
four, three, seven, nine, all dia-
monds
The fat man beamed with red eyes
| upon the company. His voice must
have sounded 10 the silent Eyrie like
| the below OF victorious bull. lie
counted his chips with loud acelain.
| What you think, eh2" he kept re-
/ peatlng. Tree hundert on a blankety
! blanked tree kart tiush!"
| Eyrie turned to his friend across
| the table who had been consur "A
with a silent aud shaking laughte
/ He assumed a casual tone which
not in the least betray
/
check cashed afterwards,
His friend ceased Go laugh: Mo
| / know myself" he responded shor
/ Eyrie. his face pale with anger.
pushed back his chair. He punished
| his friend with his eye IN break
YOU" he understand? Ill gar
you in the small of the back
Mr.. Eyrfe was standing in the cold
under the electric light watching the
| door of the big department store. As
usual he was clean, a little too we'll
| dressed and very self-contained. He
| was thinking, however, that he would
! like to own the price of a drink and
| he was impatient for the store to
close. Presently the clerks began to
come out in twos and threes, young
women mostly with shabby shoes and
coats that fitted badly in the back.
! They seurried across the street uk-
/ der the light like dilapidated moths.
numbed with the winter. Al young
! girl came out. her clothes and shoes
/ shabby like those Of her siters, her
chin tucked luxuriouSly into eXpen-
sive furs. Eyrie shrugged his should
ers at the thought of what they had
cost him. He stepped across the pave
ment and put his hand on the elbow
Of the girl, going with her across the
street.
smiled brightly in his face and thcn
] her mouth set:
why what's the mater-daar?v
she, asked in sudden alarm
Eyrie. master in expression asswell
as imnobility, turned upon the girl a
face that carried delicate f1attery
| as though to say II am in trouble,
but I'd die rather than ask this OF
any woman-except one
He had been called from the city on
business he told her and his Nheek had
not come, and he wanted TO leave at
once. II was important to leave at
once and no did not have the money
and the banks were closed.
The girl smiled again: "Is that all
i that's troubling you foolish? You
know what I'm saving the money for,
anyway, and you know that it's as
| much yours as mine."
A spasm of tenderness passed over
his face:
1T won't be long now before we're
able little girl"
1t was early morning when Mr..
| Eyrie came down from the room
where he had left his friend the fat
man and his friend the gambler, both
| drunk and both broke" His luck had
come to him like autumn leaves in a
| wind storm. He had played reckless
| ly, with the confidence of man who
knows the cards are with him. Mr..
! Eyrie whistled gently To himself and
smiled lugubriously after his manner.
but with great satisfaction
An old night bird aecosted him for
a quarter. He pulled out a "wad" as
big as piano stool" and stripped
| off twenty-dollar certificate. AS he
| thought of the fat man, Mr.. Eyric
smiled again.
1t was four days before the
celebration had been concluded. but,
| canny man that he was. the roll
was practically unimpaired. AS he
was leaving town for a trip West 10
the faro layouts. Mr.. Eyrie- took
/ thought of fifty dollar bill which he
held doubtfully in his hand. a
certain tenderness possessed him for
moment, sentiment which he tried
hard TO dismiss but which persisted
on a hearing.
Should he return that fifty he had
borrowed of Alice or not?"
Mr.. Eyrie hesitated full thirty sec
n.