Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1910-04-01
A SKYROCKET CAREER
BY EMMA D. MORRIS.

reer. One wishes TO accomplish some
greatgood. another wishesfor powerand
another for wealth. James ~Leadbeater,
an English waiter in a New York club.
wished to cut a swath. He would lie
awake nights dreaming of riding be-
hind a span, a coachman In livery on
the box, himself In the vehicle, a
tiger behind. He knew thatEhnoney
alone would enable him to reSilze his
dream and wished money for this sole
purpose. He had no thought Of work
ing for ~it-saving 1t. Possibly If he
had worked for and saved it when he
had got enough together to enact the
part OF a swell he would have put off
doing so. his dream having been sup
planted by the pleasure of accumulat-
ing. AS 1t was he aimed to make
money rapidly and without labor.
An uncle died and left him $1,000.
As soon as he had received his in
heritance he took a second class pas
sage for Genoa and from there went
to Monte Carlo. On reaching the latter
place he had 5000 in his pocket and
was sufficiently well dressed to obtain
admission to the gambling salons.
Thither he went and began to play.
OF the yicissitudes attending his ca
reer over the tables 1t Is only neces-
sary to this story to state that, though
many times reduced to a few francs.
he managed always to have something
with which to go on playing. At such
times he would bet %guardedly till his
luck had changed. then plunge" In
this way he finally got together enough
money to attain his ambition. He
bought a pair of horses. a carriage
and hired a coachman and a tiger.
The day he saw his coach driven up to
his door and the tiger dismount and
open the door for him was the happi-
est Of his life. He contrasted the
scene with his own self In claret col
ored coat and trousers and yellow
striped vest serving members of the
club at which he had been a waiter.
Strutting to his equipage with the air
of a marquis, he throw himself back on
the cushions and was rolled away in
supreme comfort.
For a month he gave himself up to
the realization of his dream. Wis
iting the tables lest something might
occur to mar his enjoyment. But at
the end of that time he returned to
the field OF the cloth of gold with a
view simply to amusement. AT times
ne won and ut times, like every other
gambler. lost. Finally he struck a
vein of bad luck and for a time feared
that he would have to discharge his
coachman and footman. He managed to
keep them by putting off the payment
of their wages, but ran heavily In debt
ITO his footman. who was more willing
to wait than the coachman.
Then Leadbeater invented a princi-
pie on which he was sure to win at
the tables. He tried 1t and o
though 1t Is probable his success was
rather due to a run Of luck than his
principle. He won steadily, but not
heavily. One day while driving through
the environs of Monte Carlo, the envy
of all who could not afford such a
turnout, his tiger. sitting on the box
in rear. tapped on the back window.
"What Is 1t, Armandg' asked Lead
heater, letting down the little square
sash.
"Could not your excellency pay me
some of the wages due mel"
Excellency! How delicious the word
always sounded An idea occurred to
the master by which he might dis
charge the debt without costing him
anything. He knew his tiger would
gamble If he had a chance. Every
body at Monte Carlo gambled. Lead
beaten would win the amount of his
wages.
How much do I owe you, Armand?'
give hundred francs
"Here it is" replied the master, TAX
ing five 100-franc notes from his peck
etbook. Then he changed from the
front to the back seat. "Have you a
pack of cards? All, how fortunate! Let
us have a game. The back seat will
serve us for a table. You can sit where
you are and play through the win
dow"
You are very conueScendlng, eXcel-
lency, to play with your footman," said
the man. much f1attered.
They were by this time quite out In
the country. where they were not like
ly to meet many people. Leadbeater
directed his coachman to drive slowly,
and the two gamblers became greatly
absorbed in the game. Gradually the
lackey's stake went through the back
window into his pocket. Within half
an hour he had won all the money his
master had with him, and this was
all Leadbeater possessed except his
dearly priced turnout. To recoup. be
bet one of his horses. He lost. Then
he bet the other horse, the harness, the
livery. the carriage. All passed from
master TO The dream of Lead
beater's life had faded. He Ind awak-