The Ekalaka eagle. [volume] (Ekalaka, Mont.) 1909-1920, 1913-12-19

"A bad night, Ferrier,'' said the ma
jor, looking at the little slip Of paper
in his pocketbook. This makes thir-
teen hundred and tifty-fve, I think"
Ferrier received the hint in silence.
IF l were YOU, my boy" continued
the major, Il would drop play for
awhile. to let luck come round a bit.
l don't think. Ferrier. that l ought
to play with you. 1t isn't fair. l keep
my head; you lose yours. I'm an old
hand, and you are a young one. I play
for the game. You play for the stakes"
Hang it, man! You can't mean that
you don't play to VIM
"Of curse I play to win. Every man
does. But l think of the game"
F'errier threw himself into one Of
the long chairs and relapsed into a
gloomy silence. The New Year had
begun badly, indeed. for him. The ma
jor strolled cut with an umbrella and
then there were left on the veranda
only the professor and Terrier. Pres
emily the professor dropped his French
novel and contemplated the moody
young gentleman with wonder and
pity.
ut seems to me-" he said to himself
after awhile, that here is a young
man whose conscience is pegging away
at him like the eagle at the man on
the rock. l wonder what he has done.
10 think that Virginie should have a
cousin with such a face.'
Indeed. at the moment the face was
suffused with a glow of vindictive
wrath, self reproach and hatred.
"She will be a great heiress'-thus
reflected the professor-"and this cous-
in Of hers will be Il lord, very like
ly he will want 20 marry her, and she
ought to marry Tom because she loves
him. Next to Tom-and if could
make up my mind to murder Tom-she
ought to marry me because l love her"
This New Years day was considered
by the Mon Desir party as in no way
differing from my other New Years
day. AS usual, there was open house
so far as the Of the estab-
lishment a~llowed-so many beds, so
many sofas, so many mattresses. so
many guests. They anne, Toasted,
talked, sang and rejoiced. There was
the prettiest girl in the whole island to
court. compliment and tease. When
the brief holiday was over they all
went away again to their respective
work. That is what happened ever
New Years day. All things in Pal
m1ste go on as If they were to last for
ever, or to recur forever on the usual
day. And certainly no one could have
suspected that a time so festive, CAV
and irresponsible would bring with it
the cause Of a Notwithstanding
short of a revolution-for the lives Of
half the people in tie party.
The captain of the mail steamer ar
rived about 4 Of the clock, bringing
with him the monthly packet Of let
tiers and papers for the whole party.
Il heard" he said. "who was out
here, and l waited for the post to be
opened and so brought all their let
tiers, as well as yours, Captain Kemyss.
And how goes 1t with you and yours,
and how is the pretty maid:"
He had been on the line a good
many years and Nirginie was still for
him his pretty maid, and he was a
privileged guest at Mon Desir.
There were two letters for Kemyss
(his correspondence with the mother
country after so many years of exile
had dropped by degrees and was now
Almost reduced to nothing), one for
Nine. Terrier "a very unusual circum-
stance), n for Virginie (who had nev-
err had a letter from England before),
five or six for Captain Ferrier, two for
the professor. half a dozen for the pa
DIRE. a pile for the others and a vast
quantity Of newspapers, magazines.
books and pamphlets for everybody.
The first of the letters which Cap
tain Kemyss opened was from a Ger.
tain cousin Of his, a country gentle
man of the midland counties, and was
: respecting Tom. "NIy advice" sale