Richmond daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1905-1906, 1906-02-07
The MAN ON THE BJI

| to the fact that he was several thou
san dollars on the wrong side of the
book. II the money had been his
own. he would have stopped. and gone
! his way cured. But il was money
which he held in trust. He must re-
place it. The angel in the pitch robes
stood at his side; she even laid a
hand on his shoulder and urged him
to win back what he had lost. Then
indeed he could laugh, go his way,
and gamble no more. This was ex
cellent advice. That winter he lost
something like Sic, 900. Then began the
progress of decline. The following
summer his losses were even greater
than before. He began to mortgage
the estates, for his authority over his
daughters property was absolute. He
dabbled in stocks; sudden fall in
gold, and he realized that his daughter
was nearly penniless. All, had he been
alone, had the money been his, he
would have faced poverty with all
the courage of brave man. But the
girl, the girl! She must never know,
she must never want for those Injuries
to which she was accustomed. For
her sake he must make one more eff
fort. He must win. must, must! He
raised more money on the property.
He became irritable. nervous. to which
were added sudden bursts Of tender
ness which the girl could not very
we'll understand.
The summer preceding the action of
this tale saw them at Dieppe. At one
time he had recovered something be-
between 100000 and $40 900 of his losses.
All. had he stopped then, confessed
to his daughter, all would have gone
we'll. But, no; he must win the entire
sum. He lost, lost, lost. The crash
came in August. But corner of the
vast Virginia estate was left, and this
did not amount to $4,000. Five francs
carelessly tossed upon a roulette table
had ruined and dishonored him. The
angel of the pitch robes had fairly en-
veloped him now. The thought that
he had gambled uselessly his daugh-
ter's legacy, the legacy which heI
mother had left confidingly in his care.
filled his soul with the bitterness OF
gall. And she continued the merry
round of happiness. purchasing expen-
sive garments, jewelry, furs, the little
things which women love; gave dim
ners and teas and dances, considered
herself an heiress, and thought the
world very pleasant place to live in.
Every laugh from her was thorn to
him, the light of happiness in her eyes
was reproach, for he knew that she
was dancing toward the preciplce
which he had digged for her.
Struggling futilely among these net
ties of despair, he took the final step.
His ruin became defnitive.
One starlit night he met distin-
guished young diplomat, rich and hand
some. He played some, but to pass
away the time rather than to coquet
with fortune. He was lucky. The man
who plays for the mere fun OF 1t is
generally lucky. He asks no favors
from fortune, he does not pay any
attention to her, and woman-like. she
is piqued. He won heavily this night:
my soldier lost correspondingly heav-
lily. The diplomat pressed loan upon
his new-found friend. who. with his
usual luck. lost 1t.
The diplomat was presented to the
daughter. They owned to mutual ac-
quaintance in Paris and Washington.
The three attended the concert. The
girl returned to the hotel bubbling with
happiness and the echoes of enchant-
ing melodies, for she was an accom-
plished musician. She retired and left
the two men to their coffee and cigars.
The conversation took several turns,
and at length stopped at diplomacy.
1T has always puzzled me-" said
the soldier how Russia finds out all
she does
THAT Is easily explained. Russia
has the wisdom of the serpent. Here
is a man who possesses a secret which
Russia must have They study him.
If he is gallant. one day he meets a
fascinating woman; if he is greedy,
he turns to find bowl of gold at his
elbow; if he seeks power. Russia points
out the shortest road"
But her knowledge of foreign army
and naval strength"
sesses an accurate knowledge of every
fort. ship and gun England boasts of;
France. Germany. and Japan. We have
never taken it into our heads to in,
vestigate America. Till recently your
country as a foe to Russian interests
had dropped below the horizon. And
now Russia finds that she must pro-
coed to do what she had done to all
other countries: that is. duplicate her
rivals fortification plans. her total
military and naval strength: and so
forth, and so on. The United States
is not an enemy. but there are posi-
hilities of her becoming so. Some day
she must wrest Cuba from Spain. and
then she may become a recognized
quantity in the Pacific"
THE Pacific?"
even so. Having taken Cuba. the
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