The Washington herald., 1914-01-04

H. II you on1y knew now uetc tuo Woka'
an; how every pulse throbs with loathinl
when she comes near me-" He gave whai
seemed to me to be n great sigh. 'l
shouldn't wonder II I were to murder hel
on our wedding night"
"she must be walking nightmare
What Is the fortunate iady's manner ]
take 1t she has tons Of money"
Her name Is Drawbridge. and she has
at any rate. enough money to pay you
Clarke"
'T hope there win be little left for
you when am paid. do real,::-. my dear
boy"
well there may be or there mayn't;
but I'm marrying her to get the money
to pay you. and that's the whole. plain
truth"
his chair when the other leaned right
over the table and stopped him.
zone moment, Armitage, one moment.
When are you going to touch that money.
eh?'
'I can't tell you the exact day now.
can I? 1 only proposed to her yesterday.
1t was your telegram that brought me to
the sticking point
I'm afraid I shall have to push you
a little beyond the sticking point I'm in
a hole myself. I've got to find At least
five hundred pounds in four-and-twenty
hours"
rs that true?'
Perfectly true. I shall be In a very
inconvenient position IL don't find It;
and it's got to come from you. Can you
get i've hundred pounds out OF your fair
lady between this and tomorrow night? II
you can I'll wait a few days for the rest.
but FIVE hundred I've got to have before
I go to bed tomorrow night; or-you know
the alternative IL don't. There's some
thing else-I should like q hundred to-
night"
Il haven't ten pounds left in the world.
I'm practically broke"
Then II looks as IL you'll have to get
hundred for me and bit over for your
self"
Mr.. Armitage. looking steadily at the
other, seemed to see something In his
face which made It clear that he meant
what he said. A grim look came on his
own face as saw him say: TN see what
can do"
You'd better. Where is the lady7'
"Punting, in the club; playing bacca-
rat"
Then you'd better cut of to the club
as fast as ever you can. and take her by
the scruff Of the neck and squeeze that
hundred out of her while she's got II to
squeeze"
Mr.. Armitage got up from his chair
Where shall I find you, at the hotel
or here?''
You'll find me all over the place, my
lad, don't you make any mistake. I'm
not going to lose sight OF you till I've got
my money. or got you in jail"
Mr.. Armitage took himself on, with an
air of indifference which was very well
done; he could not have had very care
less feeling in his heart. Almost imme-
diately Mr.. Clarke followed with the evil
dent intention of dogging his steps.
What on earth was / to do? i could
not allow a person of my own sex to en-
ter into what I knew would be such
hideous marriage without making some
attempt to lay before her the facts upon
which my knowledge was based.
1 got up from my seat and went In
search of Miss Drawbridge; finding her.
as had expected. in that part OF the
building which is found in every French
casino. and which, presume ironically
is called "cercle prive." as II it ever is,
in any sense of the word, club" or
has anything private" about IL. She
was seated at one of the baccarat tables,
and I could see at a glance that she was
winning; she had quite a quantity OF
bank notes in front of her, and kept add
ing to the store. Presently the bank was
closed and the players rose. Miss Draw
bridge rose. too. with her spoils In white
satin handbag. As she moved toward the
door Mr.. Armitage came into the room,
with Mr.. Clarke not very far behind him.
/ saw Armitage ask her, with an attempt
at a smile:
We'll. what luck? How many banks
have you broken?'
Her back was toward me. so that
could not see her answer. but l guessed
what Il was from his rejoinder.
That's great news" 1 fancy he hesi-
tated. Would he have the assurance to
ask for that hundred pounds for Mr..
Clarke without a moments warning? He
approached the subject by what 1 sup
pose he meant to be a delicate way. I'm
awfully glad you've had a bit of. luck, be-
cause the fact is it's all the other way
with me; I can't do anything right, and.
between ourselves" i saw him hesi-
tate again amagine that the decent
man which was in him made II difficult
for him to ask a woman for money when
1t came to the pinch.
What she said I could not see, but
conceive of her as saying. struck by his
hesitation: We'll, and what is il between
ourselvesT'
He made a stumbling effort to explain
what il was he wanted
You know, it's like this: I'm awfully
pushed for coin. II you could manage
to lend me, say, hundred out Of those
winnings of yours
She cut him short. 1 could not tell with
what words, but her hand dived into her
white satin bag just as they passed
through the swing door out of sight.
Two or three minutes afterward, when
I returned to the Casino, l saw in the
crowd round the little horses" Mr..
Clarke sidle up to Mr.. Armitage. Both
their faces were In plain sight. / could
see Mr.. Clarke ask:
well, have you got IL? Has the sweet
young thing been kindg"
Mr.. Armitage turned away, as IL the
others gibe had reused him to sudden
anger; but I saw him hand his compan-
ion something as he moved away, and
I knew what 1t was.
I found Miss Drawbridge sitting at the
very table on the terrace which had been
lately occupied by Mr.. Armitage and his
friend. AS I took the chair in front of
her she said to me:
That's right, come and talk to me-
and have something She herself was
having some curious concoction In a big
glass; for me she ordered a lemon
squash. I've had a good night, my dear.
It seems as IL 1 can't lose at baccarat
lately-as IL my luck had turned; I'm
sure It's about time 1t should. You look
a little moped. What's been troubling
you?"
I considered for a second or so; then
I decided. by degrees, to make the plunge.
/ approached the subject by what I
80 ho h<.,f fo - nR