The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-06-10
ADANGEROUS EXPERIMENT
nY MrCHAEL O,MEARA.

{copyright, 1905, Daily Story Pub. Col
 Well, have no patience with gam bling in any form, believe that noth- ing but evil ever became of it and am thankful beyond expression that none of my people ever indulged in it. I never could spend dollar won In game of chance"
 The speaker rose with regal grace and moved away from the group, the train of her rich gown sweeping be- hind her. Her husband rose with courtly dignity and moved after her. The conversation had turned upon speculation and gambling and some been recited. Mrs. Courtney had closed the subject with the above re- mark and the group separated.
 Lucky that she married such model as Colonel Courtney" l re- marked to Major Freeman. wno stood next me. Now. l don't suppose the Colonel ever handled card or put a dollar on a card or number or even on a horse"
 .,oh, I don't know" replied the major and in his genial eye there came a twinkle which l had learned was the precursor of delicious tit bit in the way of story or reminis- cence Come into the smoking room and I'll tell you a bit of sub rosa his- tory"
 I went willingly and presently we were seated in a cozy nook surround ed by a cloud of fragrant smoke, through which we could see through the open door the gay panorama in the drawing rooms.
 Away back before the war when Courtney and I were both young bucks and he was some years younger than I, an incident happened here in nxrZ I1wl.k IOh ha aot q any story told out there just now and which would interest Mollie Courtney nightly if she should hear 1t. The great gambling house of that time wasi Pendleton's up on Capitol Htll. Ii utas frequented by the most distin- guished men of the nation and there were some pretty stiff games pulled off--for those days. Of course. noth' Ing like these modern millionaires SC in for drat 'em. Many's the time I've seen Zach Chandler and Toombs and fellows like that in there playing away all night long.
 Well. Courtney came down from one of the New England States as sec retary for some congressman. He was d nose lovable lad, frank, manly and sincere and everybody liked him He was. however, in a most unhappy frame of mind. He was deeply Tn love with Mollie Putnam ana a cruel fate < interposed between them, in the dual shape of poverty on his part and 6 stern papa on hers, who required that the suitor to whom he confided his daughter should have an assured anc adequate income. Of course Courtney and Mollie talked knowingly and in dignantly about love in a cottage ant lighting the battles of life together and all that sort of rot, but 1t didn' go with old man Putnam-not by { iugful. He wanted to know just where the money was to come from and how much there was of it. Well Courtney was offered an opportunity to buy into a fine business which would have put him in just the position the old mar required. But 1t would cost $4,00O and Courtney had about as much oi a way to raise four thousand as h' did to find Aladdin's lamp in hi' bed room. So he took the chance to cosne to Washington in the hop' that he might form acquaintances whC would put him in the way of making some quick and easy money. But thert was not much quick and easy none! floating about in those days--least wise any that was clean and Courtne! was above handling dirty money. St the lad was as far as ever from hii goal
 "Courtney used to drop into Pendle ton's once in a while when he wal detained at work in the evening" H.