Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1908-04-23

In the mldule OF an earlny smelling
room girl, with a brown shawl
thrown over her head mantilla fash
ion, was standing before a table slowly
shutting a pack of greasy cards. The
ceiling OF the room was yellow and
mouldy, and crossed here and there
by broad cracks. The floor was soggy.
In places it had rotted and broken
through The butt OF tallow candle
was stuck near the rim of the table,
but it burned sputteringly and seemed
to throw out as much shadow as light.
A man lay in one corner tied hand
and foot His arms We're bound to his
sides and rope was wound about his
legs to the knee.
You were beautiful when I saw You
in the sunlight" he said This
thieves hole makes poor setting and
takes the color out of your cheeks and
the sparkle from your eyes, but when
/ first saw you ii seemed that the EN-
bodiment of all my ideals had stepped
before me. Not professional ideals,
but the hearts ideals. | didn't covet
your face to paint, but TO love. Really
your eyes and cheeks got into my
blood; that's the reason | walked 50
blindly into this death trap. ] would
have walked just as readily over a
precipice had you led the way.
But my minutes for holding ideals
and loving pretty eyes and cheeks are
not to be many. are they? 1t seems
/ strange that in a little while | won't
be able to feel delight or any other
chance! But ii wouldn't be fair,
would it, to ask you to help me after
what I've said? You the embodiment
of all my ideals My frank confession
might exert undue influence make me
take an unfair advantage of you, play
basely on the soft heart that must go
with that pretty face
The man had been speaking in n
vein of wild irony probably TO keep
his courage up. Now and then he
raped out his words with sharp, sar-
castle infection. The girl kept her
eyes fixed on the cards, never raised
them. Suddenly the man drew quick
breath.
Why not bundle everything to-
gether and dump it on chances Shout
ders?" he said. Make the cards de-
eide it all. Cut for yourself, then for
me. Let the highest card win. If
lose you needn't move a finger and
your amiable friends can come back
and stick a knife between my ribs
without my murmuring, but il fortune
favors me cut off these ropes and I'll
show you how a man can fight for his
life. See, you wash your hand of it all
that way. If the cards play me a
| yours
] He had begun in the same wild way
as before, but as he ran on he dropped
his hooking air and his tone became
serious and eager. There was n look
of entreaty on his face when he
paused. For the first time the girl
turned to him. Her cheeks were color
less, but her eyes were alive with
light. Something in her expression
made him breathe more sharply. He
looked at her silently for several mo.
ments.
"Will you?" His tone was passion.
ately entreating.
The girl stopped shutting the cards,
knocked them together and laid them
face downward on the table. For a
moment she looked at them silently.
This is for me-" she said She picked
up stack OF cards and looked at the
bottom one, then turned il towards the
man. 1t was the king of clubs. Hav-
ing shuffied the cards, she placed them
back on the table.
This is for YOU" she said and cut
again. She looked at the bottom card
quietly, leaning forward Without
showing it to the man, she laid il back
on the table. 1T was the ace OF
hearts" she said
Suddenly her apathy vanished and
she became feverishly alive. After
STOPPING and blowing out the candle.
she ran to the door and locked il. leav.
ing the key in the lock. A few 1.-the
strides brought her back TO the man.
From her bodice she snatched a thin
bladed, keen knife and deftly cut his
bonds
AS he stood swinging his arms about
to test their strength his eye caught
a large beer stein in one corner. He
started eagerly towards it. but at the
table paused and took from one of
the two stacks the bottom card. the
one the girl had cut. His fingers had
Just grasped it when there came the
sound of feet on the stairs leading to
the room. Without looking at the card
he thrust it into his pocket and sprang
to the beer stein. 1t was tall and
heavy, embossed with nymphs and
satyrs. but dingy and Clipped around
the edges Gripping 1t tightly he ran
to the door.
The steps continued to descend the
stairs. There were evidently two men.
The knob of the door was turned. and
an exclamation of surprise came TO
the mans ear. The door was shalan