Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1907-10-31

some mental relief by idly rlsking tho
silver in his pocket. He had let the
coins lie and double, then double again
and again. He had been Indifferent
whether he won or lost, SO assumed
reckless disregard for the laws Of prob
ability, thinking that he would shortly
lose the money he had won and then
go home. He did not want 1t. When
his luck remained the same he raised
the stakes, but it did not change-ho
could not lose. Before he realized It,
other men were betting with him. AMI
mated purely by greed and craze OF
the sport. First one, then another
Joined till game after game was closed,
and each moment the crowd had grown
in size and enthusiasm so that It's fever
crept into him, imperceptibly at first,
but ever increasing, till the mania mas
tered him.
He paid no attention to Cherry as he
took his seat He had eyes for moth
ing but the layout" She cllnched her
hands and prayed for his ruin.
whats your limit, KidW he In
CURED.
Zone hundred and two" the Kid an
| swered, which in the vernacular means
that any sum up to 5000 may be laid
on one card save only on the last turn,
when the amount Is lessened by half.
Without more ado they commenced.
The Kid handled his cards smoothly,
surely, paying and taking bets with
machine-like calm. The onlookcrs
/ m n pd tn
| for now came the crucial test Of the
evening. Faro is to other games as
war Is to jackstraws.
For q time Glenister won steadily til!
there came a moment when many
stacks OF chips lay on the deuce. Cher
ry saw the Kid flash 70 the case
keeper. and the next moment he had
pulled two" The deuce lost. 1t was
his first substantial gain, and the play
ers paid no attention. At the end Of
half an hour the winnings were slight
~ in favor Of the "house." Then
Genister said: This is too slow. I
want action"
"All right" smiled the proprietor.
"We'll double the limit"
| Huo IL Ottoluc IOSslulS W NhSCi
S400 on a card, and the Kid began real
ly to play. Glenister now lost steadily,
not in large amounts, but with tan
ta,izing regularity. Cherry had never
seen cards played like this. The gam
bier was revelation to her His work
was wonderful. Ill luck seemed to fan
the crowds eagerness, while, to add to
/ 70 INN hn nt,sy
twice in succession, SO thai those who
would have bet heavily upon the last
turn had their money given back.
Cherry saw the confusion of the
"hearse driver" even quicker than did
| Bronco. Toby was growing ratified.
The dealers work was too fast for
him. and yet he could Offer no signal
of distress for fear of annihiation at
the hands of those crowded close to his
shoulder. In the same way the owner
Of the game could make no objection
to his helpers incompetence for fear
that some bystander would volunteer
to fill the mans part. There We're
many present capable of tie trick He
could only glare baleful't across the
table at his unfortunate confederate
They had not gone far on the next
game before Cherry's quick eye de-
tected n sign which tho man misinter
preted. She address, him quietly,
You'd better BRUSH up your plumes."
In spite of his anger the Bronco Kid
smiled. Humor In him was strangely
withered and distorted. yet here was n
thrust he would always remember and
recount with glee in years to come.
He feared there were other faro deal
ers present who might understand the
hint, but there was none save Mexico
Mullins, whose face wGs study
mirth seemed to be strau Cling him. A
moment later the girl spoke to the case
keeper again.
Let me take your place; Your reins
are unbuckled"
Toby glanced inqulrirelv at the Kid
who caught ChArrys raassuring look
and nodded. so he arose and the girl
slid into the vacant chair. This wo-
man would make no errors, the dealer
knew that; her keen wits were sharp
ened by hate-it shovel in her face
II Glenister escaped obstruction to-
night 1t would be because human
means could not accomplish his down
fall.
In the mind>of the new case keeper
there was but one thought Roy must
be broken. Humiliation disgrace. ruin.
ridicule were to be his If he should
be downed, discredited and discourag-
ed. then perhaps he would turn to her
as he had In the bysone days. He
was slipping away from her-this was
her last chance. She began her du-
ties easily. and her alertness stimulat-
ed Bronco till his senses, too, grew
sharper his observation more acute
and lightning like. Glenister swore be-
meath his breath that the cards were
bewitched He was like drunken
man, now as truly intoxicated as
though the fumes OF wine had be-
logged his brain. He swayed In his
seat the veins Of his neck thickened
and throbbed, his features were con-
gested. After awhile lie spoke
II want a bigger limit Is this some
boys game? Throw her open"
The gambler shot a triumphant
glance at the girl and acquiesced. "All
right, the limit is the blue sky, Pile
your checks to the roof pole" He be-
gan TO shuttle.
Within the crowded circle the air
was hot and fetid with the breath Of
men. The sweat tricklei down Glen