The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1908-01-26

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When he put his Proposition rne
Bronco Kid dropped his eyes as though
debating. The girl saw that he stu
died the cards in his box intently and
that his fingers CareSscd the top one
ever 50 softly during the instant the
eyes of tie rest were on GIenister
The dealer looked up at last. and Cher
~ saw the CLEAN Of triumph in his
eye. He could not mask 1t from her.
though his answering words were hest
Eating. She knew by the look that
Glenister was n pauper
come on" insisted Roy hoarsely;
''turn the cards.
You're on
The girl felt that she was faintns.
She wanted to scream. The triumph
Of this moment stihed her-or was IT
triumph, after all? She heard the
breath OF the little man behind her.
rattle as though he woe bnilg throt-
tied and saw the lookout pass Il shak-
ing hand to his chin. then wet his
parched 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 eagerness, although il had not yet
recovered from the suspense of the
last great wager. It knew the Midas
and what it meant Here lay half of
it, hidden beneath tawdry square of
pasteboard. With maddeuing deIib-
GRAFTON the Kid dealt the top card. Be
meath 1t was the trey of snades. Glen
lister said no word nor Il move.
Some one coughed, ana ndcd like
a gunshot. Slowly the fingers
retraced their way. lie !.csitated pur-
posely and leered at the girl then the
three spot disappeared and beneath it
lay the ace as the king had lain on
that other wager. 1t spelled utter ruin
to Glenister. He raised his eyes blind
ly, and then the deathlike silence Of
the room was shattered by a sudden
crash. Cherry Malotte had closed her
check rack violently, at the same in
slant crying shrill and clear:
That bet is OFT! The cases are
wrongs"
GIenister half rose, overturning his
chair; the Kid hinged forward across
the table. and his wonderful hands,
tense and taIon-Iike, thrust themselves
forward as though reaching for the
riches she had snatched away. They
worked and writhed and .trembled as
though in dumb fury, the nails sinking
into the oiicloth table cover. His face
grew Iivid and cruel, while his eyes
biazed at her till she shrank from him
Gffrightedly, bracfng herself away from
the table with rigid arms.
Reason came Slowly back to Glen
lister and understanding with it He
seemed to awake from nightmare.
He could read all too plainly the gam
bler's look of bafficd hate as the man
sprawled on the table, his arms spread
wide. his eyes giaring at the covering
woman. who shrank before him like
rabbit before a snake. She tried to
speak, but choked. Then the dealer
came to himself and cried harshly
through Lis teeth one word:
Christi
He raised his fist and struck the
table so violently that chips and cop
pers leaped and rolled, and Cherry
closed her eyes to lose sight of his aw-
flu grimace GIenister looked down on
him and said:
was yours anyhow, so 1 don't mind"
His meaning was plain. The kid sud
denly jerked open the drawer before
him, but GIenster clinched his right
hand and leaned forward The miner
could have killed him with a blow, for
the gambler was seated and at his
mercy. The Kid checked himself,
while his face began to witch as
though the nerves underlying 1t had
broken bondage and were dancing in a
wild, ungovernable orgy.
''You have taught me lesson was
all that Glenister said, and with that
he pushed through the crowd and out
into the cool night air Overhead the
arctic stars winked at him. and the
sea smells struck him clean and fresh.
As he went homeward he heard the
distant full throated plant of a wolf
dog. 1t held the mystery and sadness
of the north. He paused and. barring
his thick. matted head, stood for
long time gathering himself together.
Standing so, he made certain cove
nants with himself and vowed solemn
ly never TO touch another card.
AT the same moment Cherry Malotte
came hurrying to her cottage door,
fleeing as though from pursuit or from
some hateful. haunted spot She paus-
ed before entering and flung her arms
outward into the dark in a wide ges-
ture of despair.
why did do 1t? Oh, why did do
It? I can't understand myself