The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1912-05-23
CHAPTER II.

CHAP TER VI.
After that bitter disappointment b.!
interest In his personal appearance
dwindlcd 20 the negligible, In a bacl
temper with himself CwhOm alone h
blamed for the deception 10 which
he had fallen too facllc yiCtml HI
searched bindly for a fresh tic, fount
It somehow. and kuottci II round hi,
collar In the most haphazard fashion
imaginable. Then he shrugged n dress
coat upon his shoulders and marched
forth 90 dine
In this humor he propelled him3el
with determination into the public res
taurant OF the establishment. and. OBJ
liyious TO the allure OF many pairs ul
bright eyes that Frightened all too
readily to challenge his, insisted upon
4 table all to himself. and dincd in soil
'ary grandeur. COMFORTING himself
openly as Il morosc and misunderstood
person, and to bis waiter with a man.
ucr so near rude that the latter be
gan almost TO respect him
After some time he was Disguised 10
pulse toward analysis led Tim to probe
the psychology Of the change, with the
result that he taid the blame for It AT
Tho door or the noCk-of a halibOttlc
II excellent burgundy SO he ordered
another. and, rcsolutcly Diminishing
from his mind ths woman who had
40 right whatever 10 be able to sing
4 certain song the way she had. set
ais wits to work on the riddle OF To.
morrow.
To a man whose tradc was fighting
hc world just then WIS a most dis
:rcssfu place. too peaceful entirely.
over his coffee the al ,cnturer nod
icd In despair and froNncd In dis
gust; then rouslng. he Summoned the
waiter and paid his reckoning with a
secret grin at himself. a fftyfranc
notc and gesture which splendidly
oblitcrated altogether ever trace of
suspicion that he intended to take
back any part of the change due him.
Trimming and lighting cigar. he
reviewed the restaurant with n list.
less eye which discovered no one Of
his acquaintance: therefore with
acithcr haste nor waste OF tmo. he
rose end bctool himself to the Casino
that is. to the one place where one
may feel certain of encounterlng, soon.
er or later. everybody who is ANYBODY
within Ii, bounds of the principally.
This night, more particularly than
IN any preceding II. now that he had
made up his mind to seek betterment
Of his fortunes elsewhere. he PLAYED
heediessly. little concerned with the
tate Of what money he had about him.
ac had set aside a reserve fund SUN
cient to settle his hotel bill and carry
aim a considerable distance into the
unknown which he was resolved to
bear1 and was resigned TO lose
the remainder. II was a tenet of his
creed OF fatalism that chance seldom
favored hil. when he had money in
lis pockets; the tide OF his affairs
must be at its lowest ebb ere II turn.
ed. His policy then was obvious
chiidishlJ plain: he must fling to the
winds all that which he had.
Now never was there man whd
played to lose who didn't win his
point Colonel ORourkes case can be
cited as no exception to this rule Eel.
bow TO elbow on one side with an art.
less old lady from Terre Haute. who
risked her minimums with the fero
cious Jealousy OF q miser making an
unsecured loan. on the other with nm
intent little Austrian gambler absorb.
"a In the workings OF his "system "
me adVenturer scattered gold upon
he numbered and Illuminated grid.
ron az unconcernedly as though he
,ad been matching shIlllngs. and saw
no coins gathered In by the greedy |
axe as often Is the little ivory hail |
ceased to chatter on the wheel
For the better part of nm hour this
And the little group of
which had gathered be.
lind his chair to watch his MAY in.
dissipated A whisper ran
through the ranks of tho habitues that
he luck OF the mad freshman had turn.
d; and forthwith he ceased to be an
bject OF interest. Only the little
austrian. having risked the number
{ stakes prescribed by his system for
ne evenings play, put away his note.
ook and pencil and. surrenderlng his
lace to another. fingered behind
''Rourke's chair.
At length. inexpressibly bored and
DO impatient to defer the inevitable
y niggardiy wagers. O'Rourke ran.
acked hts pockets and placed the pro.
eeds-several hundred francs--I am
5 ignorant Of the amount rs he was
different to it--upon the red.
There fell ,ull. the e,eupier hold.
10 the wheel TO permit an unbaked
ih OF Chicago millions to cover the