River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1908-08-13


er handsome man, with a pair of
| black, piercing eyes, which seemed to
CLEAN with an almost unnatural bril-
lance, thrust his gloved hand into
his pocket, and carelessly tossed some
notes upon the table without counting
them, at the same time exclaiming:
"Remiere douzaine!"
In an instant the croupier spread
them open, saying:
"Trois mile francs premiere dou-
zaine."
Scarcely had these words been ut
tered when there arose the inevitable
warning:
''Rein ne va plus!"
For a single second there was
dead silence as all eyes watched the
tiny ball, while it fell with a rattle
and final click into one of the small
sockets on the cylinder, and ere it
had touched the number the croupier
announced in the same sharp voice:
"Neuf! Rouge impair ct manque!"
and with his rake commenced to draw
in the losses.
The man who had flung down his
notes so carelessly muttered some
thing to himself as if counting, and
took the six thousand francs he had
won, handing back the three thousand
he had staked, saying:
premiere cOlonne."
Again the invitation to play rose
above all other sounds, and loungers
attracted from other tables crossed to
watch the sensational stakes. l asked
one of the blue-coated attendants
whether the player had been winning,
and the reply was that he had lost
only once, and that he had played al
ways with the same stakes-three
thousand francs. Then, returning to
the table, l stood next him.
The moment the strangers notes
were placed on the small square at
the end of the table beneath the num-
Der SO, gold and silver were showered
upon it by those determined to follow
the play of this favorite of Fortune.
The wheel was spun, the ball
elected, and few moments later, in
the breathless tension which followed,
arose the words:
"Dix-huit! Rouge, pair ct manque!"
Again the stranger had won. The
smaller stakes were paid first, then
the croupier handed him six notes,
each for thousand francs. This time
he placed all the notes in his pocket,
together with the three thousand he
had staked, and producing note for
hundred francs, tossed it on zero.
The chance was too small to suit
the majority of the players; and only
couple of five-franc pieces were
placed beside it.
Rein ne va plus!" sounded almost
before the stakes could be placed on.
The ball gave little jump, then fell
with sharp click, click-click.
'TrentedeuX!" cried the croupier,
loudly, with that roll of the "r" which
frequenters of Monte Carlo know so
well.
The stranger, with muttered word,
which sounded very much like an oath,
turned away, having lost for the first
time, but richer by many thousand
francs than half an hour before. Those
and many, mostly of the English tour
ist class, admired his self-control in
leaving Immediately after his first
loss. If every one did so, there would
be fewer ruined fortunes, and the
bank would profit less.
With both hands deep in his peck
cts, and a disconsolate look on his
though he had lost heavily than
gained-he strolled away into the
trente-et-quarante room beyond.
Whether it was the curious look of
suppressed excitement in his ewes
that caused me to keep his detected
figure in sight l know not, yet by some
intuition l felt that about this man
who was certainly not an habitue of
the rooms-there was something mys-
FERROUS. One fact was strange. When
he had drawn from his vest pocket
the hundred-franc note, he had taken
out with it a third-class return railway
ticket. Men as we'll dressed do not
usually travel to Monte Carlo third
class. Again, as | watched him cross
the polished floor, l saw that although
his coat and vest were we'll cut. and
that he wore heavy gold albert yet
his trousers were frayed at the bot
toms, baggy at the knees, and alto
gether disreputable
A dozen times as I strolled back
wards and forwards the length of the
rooms, lounging here and there,
caught his full face and profile. 1t was
that of man strong-willed, excited
beneath calm exterior, and debating
within himself whether he should
continue playing.
The face was not the original of
any in my collection.
From table to table he strolled.
pausing to glance at the play. until
he passed out into the great atrium,
at that moment filed with the crowd
emerging from the concert room.
AS l went out by the entrance door
I whispered to Grenat, the head door
keeper, pointing him out, and ordering
him, if he again entered. to look at
his card, and at once send his name
to me.
Leisurely the stranger made his
way to the end of the hall, entered the
small bar and ordered a glass of