The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1906-10-31

CQ60-
"Jinny!" he cried, and stepped for
ward with outstretched arms. The
girl shrank back.
How do you do, Mr.. Bevis?" she
said coldly. Then, remembering his
danger, she cried: why are you
here? You must go, go at once; do
you hear?"
Dan gazed at her in amazement,
the brightness dying out Of his face.
II can't follow suit" he said, slow
ly; II haven't the cards. You ask
why I'm here; well, that's why
He took a sheet of paper from his
breast and laid it on the counter.
She snatched it up and read: why
did you go away without a word?
Don't you care? If you do, come and
take me away.-Jinny."
"And you believed it?" she cried,
sharply, her face flushed and her
breast heaving with anger. "You
could think me capable of writing
that to any man, above all to one who
never"
Forgive me; I should have
known" he said, gently. II am
afraid I'm very conceited. OF course,
you couldn't care for me?"
You are forgetting your position,
Mr.. Bevis. This letter has been
forged for the purpose of entrapping
you. Every moment that you waste
here brings death nearer"
The gambler looked at her steadily
for a moment, and her eyes dropped
before his. There was something
new about him which she could not
fathom; an earnestness which she
had never noticed before.
"I guess I'll stay" he said, slowly.
The girl stamped her foot angrily,
and was about to speak, when
Hands up, Dan," cried a sharp
voice from the doorway, and the sun
shine glinted along the barrel of a
rifle leveled at the gamblers heart.
Dan complied instantly with the
request, but his eyes we're smiling,
for Jinny's face had become pale and
her lips had uttered a cry Of real
pain, and this evidence of interest on
her part made this quixotic adyan-
turer forget his danger; SO that it
was with quite an amused expression
that he greeted his captors and suf-
fered himself to be disarmed. =
"you must be tired of life, Dan, to
come here again; what's brought
you?" asked one. ...
"a horse and a gamble" replied
the prisoner, airily. ~
pretty high betting; you staked
your life," said the other.
Eyes; but it was worth it, if had
won," Dan said, with slight glance
at Jimmy.
But you've lost instead" broke in
the sneering tones Of Lupas, who un-
derstood the allusion.
True, I've lost" replied the gam
bier, and this time only jimmy knew
the fullness of his meaning.
Then, with a sudden change to his
old audacious gayety, he added:
Come, boys line up. I've still
some of your money left, and my old
friend Brown will be delighted to set
up the drinks"
The drinks duly consumed, some
of the prisoners former victims pro-
posed a game Of cards, and as there
was no possible chance of his escap-
ing from the crowded saloon, the
game began.
"I'l play you for your horse,
Deuce, if you like, Dan; you won't re-
quire him again." said Lupas. II
always wanted him" s -
You'll have to treat with Miss
West, then; I've already presented
him to her." said Bevis, with smile
and a bow to the girl.
The words were spoken loudly, and
the girl looked up to find Lupas
watching her narrowly. For mo-
ment she hesitated, and then she
said:
Il shouldn't think of parting with
him; he's the best animal for twenty
miles round"
Her voice was cold, matter Of fact,
without a trace Of emotion, and acted
like a douche of ice water on Bevis.
Though she had accepted his i'm
promptu gift, it was apparently only
for the value of it. He noticed, too,
that she never looked at him, and
with a sigh devoted himself to the
task Of winning money he would
never have the chance to spend.
The scene next morning formed a
fitting sequel to that of the preced-
ing night. The condemned man
walked free and unconcernedly to the
place of execution, chatting in a cas-
ual way with those about to usher
him into eternity. One thing alone
betrayed-to the initiated-the fact
that Dan was prisoner; he was un-
armed.
The preparations were primitive:
A tree, rope with a moose at one
end and half dozen stalwart miners
at the other. Dan had seen men die
in this way before, and he kne| the
agony Of it. Nevertheless there was
a jest on his lips.
You haven't got that gallows built
yet and you need it badly" he re-
marked.
I'VE didn't expect you back so soon
or we'd had it ready" was the quick
retort from one Of the crowd. And