The Breckenridge news., 1910-05-25

n
MI feet content. The pretty wo-
man sitting opposite smiled
4 Il at him tenderly, and he
smiled back abstractedly, as a man
sometimes will when his mind tries to
gather in comprehenslvely a thought
and a picture which are totally differ
ent. Before him In neat little lustrous
stacks stood 1000 francs in gold, $50
effigies Of Napoleon the Little"-7, 900
francs, $1,400. more than half the
sum of his letter Of credit
He counted off ten coins and placed
them on the second dozen. The ball
rolled into No. %. He leaned back
again with a second sigh, and the pret-
ty woman smiled a second smile, and
the wooden rake pushed the beautiful
gold over to him. He was playing a
system, one bet in every three turns
of the wheel in stakes Of $40 and $50.
To be sure, he lost now and then, but
the next play he doubled and retrieved.
oh, the American Comic Opera COM
pany should be well taken care Of!
Two more bets and then he would
pocket his winnings and 60 He laid
40 francs on No 90 and 400 on black,
leaned upon his elbows and studied the
pretty woman, who smiled. If she
spoke English-he scribbed the ques-
tion on a scrap of paper and pushed 1t
across the table. blushing a little as
he did so. she read it. or at least
she tried to read it, and shook her head
with the air of one deeply puzzled.
He sighed again, rejecting that there
might have been a pleasant adventure
had he only understood French.
Twenty-six black and even!
Merrihew slid back his chair and
rose He swept up the gold by the
handful and poured it into his pockets,
casually and unconcernedly. as if this
was an everyday affair and of minor
importance. But as a matter of fact
his heart was beating fast. and there
was a wild desire in his throat to yell
with delight Eighteen hundred dol
lars. 1900 francs. A merry music they
made in his pockets-jingle. jingle,
jingle! And then he saw Hillard COM
ing across the hall. Instantly he
forced the Joy from his face and eyes
and dropped his chin in his collar. He
became in that moment the picture OF
desolation.
"Is it all overY asked Hillard grave
ly.
"All overr' monOtonously
Come over to the cafe. then. I've
something important to tell you"
Found themT with rousing interest
II shall tell you only when we get
out Of this place. Come"
Hlllard put out a friendly hand.
81 am sorry. boy wanted you to
win something. Cheer up! Wen
shake the dust of this place in the
morning"
"Oh, for a vacant lot and a good old
whooper-up! Feel!' cried Merrihew.
touching his side pockets.
"What is it," asked Hlllard.
what is It? 1t is 45O napoeonsw
"What? sharply. even doubtfully
That's what! Eighteen hundred
dollars! My system will have no
funeral tonight"
He caught Hillard by the sleeve and
fairly ran him over to the cafe.
Nearly two thousand" murmured
Hillard. "Well. of all the luckw
1T does seem too good to be true
say, what's the matter with your
rravat2"
Hillard looked down at the futter-
ting end and reknotted it carelessly.
Il saw Kitty tonight" he said.
TO Merrihew it seemed that all the
clatter about him had died away sud
denly. He breathed deeply. Where is
sheT
I'll explain what has happened"
Merrihew listened eagerly.
And why did you bother about the
Italian?" he interrupted. why didn't
you hold on TO KittyT
II confess 1t was stupid OF me. but
the gentleman with the scar was an
unknown quantity. Besides. why
should Kitty run away from me of all
persons? And why. when / spoke to
them in the casino. did they ignore
me completely"
ITS your confounded prima donna.
She's at the bottom of all this. take
my word for It Something's desper.
ately wrong. Persons do not wear
masks and hide In this manner jest
for lark. Why didn't you knock him
DOWN.
'I wanted TO, but 1t wasn't the psy-
Geological moment You can't knock
a man down when he practically sur
renders"
You're too particular. But what's
the matter with Kittyf don't under
Stand. To see tou was to know that
I was round @omewhere. She ran