The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1909-07-16
TOOMUCH GOOD Luck.
~ FLORA MILLIoAN.


II maintain" said Brown, shat life
is a game OF cards, It consists Of two
PARTS skill and luck"
"How about the condition Of life
into which one IS born7" said Jones.
~That's a part OF the luck. A man Is
born into certain circumstances in lieu
Of cards and certain ability in lieu Of
skin"
"And is opportunity a part Of the
cards?"
Eyes; that is to be counted with
luck
Suppose one has plenty Of skin, but
no opportunity"
"He Is IN the same fix as a skillful
player whose cards are bad"
Gentlemen said a seedy individual
at neighboring table-they were IN
a cafe" pardon the interruption. but /
couldn't help hearing your converse
ton. and / am interested In its pur-
port. Permit me to add one state
ment to those you have made. It Is
this--a mans game may be spoiled
BY too much luck"
"That IS his own fault" said Brown.
'He shouldn't lose his head"
zone may be ruined by good luck
and not be at the slightest fault
''That statement on Its face is in
correct. a contradiction" replied Brown,
Il can give you case"
do SC" said Jones. If you satisfy
us in the matter you may order the
best dinner the house affords and
VIII pay for It."
"With bottle Of champagne as my
contribution" supplemented Brown.
"Done." said the stranger HAD It
not been for too much good luck ]
should now be dining and winning 9th
ers instead Of accepting your bounty,
giving you nothing but an illustration
in return When was a young man
my father, dying, told me that his
brother, my uncle, who was mil
lionaire bachelor, intended 10 make me
his heir and must be very circum-
spect In my treatment Of him. ! had
sense enough to see the situation
and
"Oyerdid It." Brown put in. ''You
diseusted him, and your
@Not at ALL" the stranger went on.
Il grew very fond of him and did
not need to pretend to be interested
in him. he was smart enough to per
ceive this, and we grew nearer together
every day. The old gentleman was
very fond o. playing poker hands foI
a small stake. Every night before he
went to bed he insisted on my sitting
down with him for an hour at this di-
version"
Il see.' said Brown ''You were silly
enough to let him win, and It angered
him"
"or to win bis money" added Jones
Il must do either one or the other,
gentlemen. and SO did ID the end. but
shah come to that in q moment For
a time the game wavered between us.
Sometimes my uncle aud sometimes /
would be ahead But one night, the
fatal night" the stranger moaned, 4
held full hand Of aces against my
uncle's full hand Of kings. Naturally
we both bet high-that Is. for a game
intended only to help pass an hear
before going to bed-and OF course
won.
"The next deal fell to my uncle, and
neither OF us got more than a single
pair | then dealt and gave my uncle
four tens ard myself a royal flush.
did not bet high, but when | showed
down my uncle looked surprised. His
next deal was unimportant, but at my
next gave him three aces and my
self four queens"
"Oh, well,o protested Brown. "if al
man has mind to do that sort OF
thing be can't blame bis luck"
Z was neither. knew nothing
about putting cards where wanted
them. Had known should have given
the winners to my uncle. had sim
ply struck remarkable run Of luck.
/ was Mortified at it and would have
been delighted to change it. for saw
that my uncle was beginning to think
that / was cheating him. took ad-
vantage Of one low hand he dealt me
to bet high, but only made matters
worse, for be held lower cards than /.
And so It went on Every time
dealE saw my uncle watching my
fingers with terrible suspicion on bis
face
why interrupted Brown, didn't
you bet lowi9
$50 did On one occasion. I held
three tens and bet a mere trifle. NV
uncle held four mines, and when he
saw that had stayed out, be holding
his only big hand, he assumed that /
did SO with knowledge Of where the
cards lay.
"And SO the game went on. always
topping him, seeing a fortune pass
away from me and having no power to
stop the luck that was running me.
How wished that lad learned
dealing cards professionally 80 that ]
could have given my uncle better cards
than minel At last he rose from the
table and, pointing to the door said
Go, and never let me see your face
ngaing
"Ihe next day be changed his win,
and q week later he was dead
The stranger ceased to speak. Brown
looked at Jones, and Jones looked at
Brown. Then they called the proprie-
tor and paid the bet. But they did not |
femain To see the stratonl. Ont AsL