The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-09-18

hours io'
 Afer the next act Mrs. Tudor rose with alacrity. and said:
 Now come along. Miss Forde: fol- low me, and mind the step at the cor
 Together they descanded tb. .,r. passed through the room where ths iittle horses were still whirling. and onward to another apartment Here two large tables were closely invested by an immense crowd.
 keep close to me-" urged Hester's eonouctor, and presently you will get a peep--oh. here is an opening;I will squeeze in and you. who are So tall. can look over my head" Hester looked. and beheld A large oolong table covered with green cloth. There were no numbers: in the middle at one side, In peculiar round chair, gentleman was seated with pack | Of cards in his hands. Opposite him was crourier, before whom were piles | or colored countefs--red and white and green. These he gathered or distrib- | uted with a wooden wand resembling | an immense paper knife. The banker | (the man in the round chair) dealt two caris to each side of the tabie---after the stakes were made--then two to | himself. When all three pairs were | turned up, the nearest to nine won. l It was evidently a simple game. On the present occasion the banker turned up five and four. and the croupier's long paper-knife ecooped in a quantity of colored counters
 The red ones are worth twenty francs" explained Mrs Tudor. the larger ones 100 francs. the green ones l 500 francs."
 See" said Mrs. Tudor, as the bank CT rose. and the fine de la taille' was announced oy the chef des jeux, that Is over: now the bank will be put up to auction. and go to the highest bid- der"
 There! Already it has gone to the Count AlcAros--he plays for big stakes" and she indicated a slight, dark man, he had taken his seat and pushed roll of notes over to the crou- pier.
 .'Le banque est adjugee a quatre cent louis" he called out; "Quatre cents | louis la banquet"
 Now you will see some high stakes" continue Mrs. Tudor. Do you observe this prin little EngIishwoman putting on ten louis--she looks like a parsons wife"
 Hester glanced around and noticed people adventuring large stakes, oth- CTS merely one counter. Here were | men of all ages, yes. and matrons. and l mere girls. Some looked perfectly col- lected, others hollow eyed and haggard. A handsome young Engishwoman. with | a great feathered hat. staked two large green pieces. (Hester made a mental note that these two pieces represented 40 pounds.) She had also a heap of l winnings before her. Close by ,an eld- erly woman. with dyed red hair and the remains of splendid beauty, was lam guidly extracting counters from a gold bag. Hester noticed that her hands were exquisite---a blaze of rings. The lady wore an air of complete insouci- ance. and held cigarette at the cor Ter of her mouth.
 "The Duchesse de San Telmo: she has just lost 100 louis," whispered Mrs. | Tudor.
 Hester drew in her breath and stared with all her eyes. She noticed the Duchesse's elaborate French hat her ornaments. her jeweiled cigarette case. and. above all, her face. There were hard lines by her mouth. and pouches under her eyes. which were dark. proud and sleepy, and yet had the air of see- Ing everything around her. Hester watched her eagerly. and feverishly hoped that she would win--for she was Paul's mother.
 The interest she developed in tho | ladY's cards was absorbing. but. alas for her good wishes the Duchesse lost. and lost and lost; always with a most complete equanimity always with a | cigarette in the corner Of her mouth. Hester was 20 deeply engrossed in her fortunes, that she scarcely glanced at an yone else: but once. when she did I raise her eyes. she was not a little sur ] prised to behold Mrs. Britten at the | opposlts end of the table--Mrs Brit ten wearing the white boa. and accom- panied by her friend, Sir Peter Potts. The lady was so occupied with him and her game that she had apparently not noticed Hester; so much the better-it might only have led to awkward ex- plantations. There was a good old pro- verb Let sleeping dogs iie." It was with manifest reluctance that Miss Forde eventually left the card room She had found the baccarat even more attractive than the play! For here were real people doing real things. She had now obtained glimpse of gay society at Biarritz. and she re- alized the painful fact that she was dowdy. Addressed. a;.d altogether badly turned out--a very crow among the peacocks' Those French and Spanish ladies wore exquisite tollettes: SO suitable. so well-flttins. so something's she could not explain; and as for their superb ornaments. their strings of pearls. long chains of precious stones. their flashing diamond brooches and buckles, she had never seen anything like them. no, not even in the shop windows.
 (ContInued TomorrOw)