The Tupelo journal., 1910-08-19
&c SPECTRAL
GAMBLER

1t was In February, 1881. was
spending the winter season at San
Reno and lived in a fine room on
the second floor Of the Hotel Eu-
rope. I used to visit Monte Carlo
repeatedly and to play roulette and
usually with the same result. l re-
turned to San Reno with empty
pockets.
One evening I came back from such
an excursion and went to bed with
fixed conclusions never again to try
the roulette.
Everything in my roo was as
usual. At the side of my bed stood
a little table with a marble top and
on this was a china candlestick. At
the bottom of the candle and on
the top of the candlestick was a round
piece Of glass through which the can
die was stuck.
I noticed that it was in good shape
and had no crack when 1 put a new
candle in.
had a peculiar feeling when l
was about to blow the light out. I
smelled the smoke of gunpowder and
had the idea as II somebody was In
the room.
l looked everywhere and could not
find anything suspicious or any race
of smoke, and laughing about my W
foolishness, l lay down to sleep. But
although l vas very tired l could not
sleep, and half awake and half dream
ing, l saw the roulette table before
me and many players around it.
One individual. a man who looked
like an army officer, attracted my
attention. He was pale as a ghost
and seemed to try hard to hide his
nervousness. He continuously turned
the ends of his mustacile and when
he made his play and placed his
money. and the croupier had taken 1t
away he smiled grimly and finally hav-
ing apparently lost his last five franc
piece he rose and left the table.
Then l fell asleep. I dreamed that
the man whom l had e was in my
room and looking at me sternly. l
saw a little hole in his forehead and
a drop of blood coming out of it.
Suddenly l woke up. l had heard
the sound of falling glass. 1 made
a light and found the glass piece
which had been On the candlestick
broken IN two pieces on the marble
plate of the little table. l wondered
how this could have happened, as the
candlestick was not thrown over by
me while I was sleeping and the
candle was still sticking in it.
On the next morning l met a friend,
a German count, who had a nice villa
in the outskirts of the city.
told him my experience. and he
found it very peculiar. OF course
I did not tell him of my vision of
the roulette table and about my
dream.
In a joking kind of way he re-
marked: We'll, l think the Polish
army officer who committed suicide
in your room a fortnight ago is
probably to blame for the broken
glass. He went broke in Monte Carlo
and probably wanted to break some
thing in return"
did not say anything further about
the matter, but when l came to my
room | investigated the little table
carefully and lifted the marble plate.
To my surprise found eight numbers
written upon the bottom of it.
Should the dream, the breaking of
the glass and the finding Of the nun
bers have a connection? l copied the
numbers and went to Monte Carlo to
play them.
But l was ashamed of myself, snG
did not put a silver piece on the
table.
The ~croupier called oat mo. IS"
That was the first number on my
paper slip. l smiled; an accident. ]
thought. Then camc No. 2, the sec
ond number on my slip. | was sur
prised and became SO ervou that l
could not move. The third number
of my slip came, and in succession the
rest of the eight.
Now, l was overcome by the
thought of having missed the chance
to win a fortune.
When l slept in my room the fol-
lowing night l saw the Polish Of
icer again in my dream, and, smiling
ly extending his hand to me, he said:
We'll done, young man. Resist all
temptation and let the game alone"
l could not touch a caro- any more,
and once when l was to join in a
poker game l felt a cold hand holding
mine, and l excused myself. l hope
the poor soul of the suicide may have
found it's rest.