Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1907-10-16

yet she was determined 10 nniSh the
hand. As Bronco paused before the
last turn many of the bystanders made
bets. They were the ease players"
who risked money only ON the final
pair. thus avoiding the chance Of two
cards of like denomination coming to-
gether In which event C'splits" 1t IL
called the dealer takes half the mon
ey The stakes were laid ut last and
the deal about to start when Glenister
spoke. walt! What's this place
worth. Bronco?'
"What do you meanT"
"You own this outfit" He waved
his hand about the room. "Wcll, what
does Il stand your
The gambler hesitatcd an instant,
while the crowd prickcd up It's ears.
md the girl turned wondering. trou-
bled eyes upon the miner What would
he do now?
Counting bank rolls. fixtures and
all, about $4,000. why"
"I'll pick the ace to lose, my one.half
interest In the Midas against your
whole layout"
There was an absolute hush while
the realization of this offer smote the
onlookers. 1t took time to realize It.
This man was insane. There were
three cards TO choose from-One would
win, one would lose, and one would
have no action.
OF all those present only Cherry Ma.
lotte OWNED even vaguely the real rca.
son which prompted the man Il, do
this. II was not "gamencss" nor alto.
gether a british stubbornncss which
would not let him quit. II was some.
thing deeper. He was desolate and
his heart was gone. Helen was lOHt to
him-worse yet, was unworthy and
she was all he cared for. What dti he
want Of the Midas, with It's lawsuits.
its intrlgues and its trickcry? He wes
sick of 1t all. Of the whole game, and
wanted to get away. If he won, very
well. II he lost. the land Of the aurora
would know him no more.
When he put his proposition the
Bronco Kid dropped his eyes as though
debating. The girl saw that he stu
died the cards In his box lntcntly anG
that his fingers caresScd the top one
ever so softly during the instant the
eyes of the rest were on Glenlster.
The dealer looked up at last, and Cher
ry saw the CLEAN of triumph I'm his
eye. lie could not mask II from her.
though his answering words were hest.
tnting. She knew by the look that
ilenister was paupCr.
Come on" insisted Roy hoarsely;
turn the cards"
You're on"
The girl felt that she was falnting.
She wanted to scream The triumph
Of this moment stincd her--or was 1t
triumph, after all? She heard the
breath of the little man behind her
rattle as though he We're being throt-
tied and saw the lookout pass II shak-
Ing hand TO his chin, then wet his
tarched lips. She saw the man she
had helped to ruin bend forward, his
lean face strained and hard. an odd
look OF pain and WEAKNESS In his eyes.
She never forgot that look. The
crowd was frozen In various attitudes
OF cagerness. although 1t had not yet
recovered from the suspense of the
last great wager II knew the Midas
and what 1t meant. Here lay half of
1t, hidden beneath Il tawdry square OF
pasteboard. with maddening DELHI.
Grafton the Kid dealt the top card. Be
meath 1t was the trey Of spades. Glen
lister said no word nor made Il move.
Some one coughed, ana It sounded like
a gunshot. Slowly the dealers fingers
retraccd their way. He hesitated pur-
posely and leered at the girl, then the
three spot disappeared and beneath 1t
lay the ace as the king had lain on
that other wager. II spelled utter ruin
to Glenister. He raised his eyes blind
ly, and then the dcathlike silence of
the room was shattered by sudden
crash. Cherry Malotte had closed her
check rack violently, at the same In
slant crying shrlll and clear:
That bet is off! The cases are
wrongw
Glenister half rose, overturning his
chair; the Kid lungcd forward across
the table, and his wonderful hands,
tense and talon-like, thrust themselves
forward as though reaching for the
riches she had snatched away. They
worked and wrlthcd aud trcmbled rs
though In dumb fury, the nails sinking
into the ollclOth table cover. His face
grew livid and cruel, while his eyes
blazed at her till she shrank from him
affrightedly, braclng herself away from
the table with rigid arms.
Reason came slowly back to Glen
lister and understanding with 1t. He
seemed to awake from a nightmare.
He could read all too plainly the gam
bler's look OF bafiied hate rs the man
sprawled on the table, his arms spread
wide, his eyes glnring at the covering
woman, who shrank before him like
rabbit before snake. She tried to
speak, but choked. Then the dealer
came to himself and cried harshly
through his teeth one word:
Christi
He raised his fist aud struck the
table so violently that chips and cop.
pers leaped aud rolled, and Cherry
closed her eyes to lose sight of his aw-