Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1910-03-11

ed old voice, said g~rumblingly-
Come n"
Still the man on the landing waited.
"Oh, come in, JIMMY know ye."
Cautiously the man outside stepped
through the entry into the light and
faced the old man, who, arrayed In a
: wadded dressing gown, sat In a Dig
chair by the fire-an old man, with
white face and a sncering grin, who
sat with his lap full of papers.
The visitor nodded a friendly greet
ing.
LAS far as l can gather" he said
deliberately, 1--WE are just above your
, dressing-room, and If o dropped me
through one of your patent traps,
Reale, 1 should fetch up amongst your
priceless china"
Save for a m~omentary look Of alarm
on the old mans face at the mention
of the china, he preserved an imper-
turable calm, never moving his eyes
from his visitors face. Then his grin
returned, and he motioned the other to
a chair on the other side Of the fire
place.
Jimmy turned the cushion owe with
the point Of his stick and sat down.
Suspicious ?"-the grin b~roadened-
suspicious of your old friend, Jimmy?
The old governor, eh?"
Jimmy made no reply for a moment,
then
You're a wonder, governor, upon my
word you are a wonder. That mar in
armor-your idea?"
The old man shook his head regret
fully.
Not mine entirely, Jimmy. Ye, see,
there's electricity in it, and 1 don't
know much about electricity. l never
did, except
Except" suggested the visitor.
"Oh. that roulette board, that was
tism, which Is different to electricity,
by my way of looking"
Jimmy nodded.
Eye got past the trap" The old man
had ;":t thc CLINT of admiration IN
his eye.
Yes, Jumped it."
The old mar nodded ap~provingly.
You always was a one for thinkin'
things out. I've known lots of 'em who
would never have thought OF jumping
1t. Common, and that pig Massey, they'd
have walked right on to it. You didn't
damage anything?" he demanded sud-
denly and fiercely. II heard somethin'
break an 7 was hoping that It 2
you"
Jimmy thought OF the marble statue,
and remembered that ii had looked val
liable.
Nothing at ALL" he lied easily, and
old mans tense look relaxed.
The pair sat IN opposite sides of the
fireplace, neither speaking for fully 10
minutes; then Jimmy leant forward.
"Reale," he said quietly, how much
are you WORTH"
In no manne disturbed by this lead
lively satisfaction the other replied
instantly
I've got the figures In my head. Reck-
onin' furniture and the things in his
house at their proper value. two mil
lions, and f~orty-seven thousand and
pounds-floatin', Jimmy,
absolute cash, the same as you might
put your hand In your pocket IN
spend-a million and three-quarters
He leant back in his chair with a
triumphant grin n watched his Wis
Jimmy had taken a cigaret from his
pocket and was lighting it, looking at
the slowly burning match refiectively.
"a million n three-quarters," he
repeated calmly. lis a lot of money"
Old Reale chuckled softly.
"All made out of the confiding pub
lie, with the aid of me-and Connor
and Massey"
MASSEY Is d pig VIC OH NftdH III
terJected spitefully.
Jimmy pulled a cloud Of tobacco
smoke.
"Wrung with sweat and sorrow
from foolish young men who backed
the tiger and played high at Reale's
Unrivaled Temple Of Chance, Cairo,
Egypt-with branches at Alexandria,
Port Said, and Suez."
The figure in the wadded gown
writhed In a paroxysm Of silent mer-
riment.
How many men have. you ruined,
Reale?" asked Jimmy.
1.-The Lord knows" the old man an
cheerfully; only three as L
knows of-two of ems dead, one Of
'em's dying. The two that's dead left
neither chick nor child; the dying ones
a daughter"
Jimmy eyed him through narrowed
lids.
why this solicitude for the reia-
tfves-you're not going"
AS he spoke, as IL anticipating a.
question, the old man was nodding his
head with feverish energy, and all the
while his grin broadened.
What a n you are for long words,
You always was. That's how
you managed to persuade your swell
tndei What's that mean? Frsttinr
about 'em dye mean? Yes, that's what
I'm doin'-frettin' about I'm. And I'm
going to make what dye call tt-you
had 1t on the tip of your tongue a
or two ago."
Continued Next Week