El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-12-18

q NAAAaAN4 W01 "a 6Ar
en- at the door, but Helen and
Louise managed to push their
way through into the first room beyond
where they checked their wraps.
Talk about crowds" whispered Lou
Use over her shoulder. as they made
their way into the large ball hoom,
Have you ever seen anything worseF
Helen agreed without speaking. She
hated crowds Of any kin and had only
peen persuaded to attend the bridge
at the Gilmore because Louise had
told her that ii was in a good cause
and she ought to %patronize it.
Cant you imagine playing cards
with some of the old friends that you
see around here? I know III draw
some cranky old person, but then L
dote on them, so / don't mind"
Don't, Louise, you fairly make me
shiver. Playing cards with a lot OF
strange women is bad enough, but that
is worse"
Cheer up, my child; you may win a
prize. I understand they're very hand
some. but as I never have any luck, II
must be you who will go home deco
rated with a cutglass berry bowl or a
half dozed b%ouinon cups or a set OF
candlesticks."
Just what I need" said Helen, her
thew would have an expensive prize
like that? If so, L certainly am glad 1
came"
I'm almost positive about it."
laughed Louise. "Come on now. we'd
better find our tables. Here you are"
and Louise left Helen at a table with
three other women while she hurried
off to find her own place.
Helen was not a good bridge player
she was too sensitive n not sure
enough of herself. Any slight mistake
made her nervOus. and she was sure to
play very badly in consequence. How
ever. the thought Of the candlestlcks
which she had wanted for her dressing
table ever since she could remember
spurred her on, and for the first part
of the afternoon she played very Well.
Her score went up rapidly ana When
she met Louise some time later she
displayed her tally as gleefully as a
child.
i save the prizes" said Louise ex-
citedly, land there are two sets OF
candlesticks. Play your hardest, Helen,
and you're sure to get one Of them"
Helen laughed. and all might have
gone well if at that moment Helen's
partner had not leaned forward as she
was in the act of shutting the cards,
~ said:
Helen Has Sense Of Disaster.
ct beg your pardon, but I am afraid
you have lost one of the diamonds out
of your pin-'
Helen started and uttered a little ex-
clamation as her hand went up to her
throat where the pin was fastened. II
was the brooch that Warren had given
her last Christmas, the one really
handsome gift he had ever given her
of his own free viii.
Helen had never forgotten the thrill
Of surprise and pleasure that had come
over her when Warren had given it 20
her Christmas morning. 1t couldn't be
possible that she had lost n stone.
With a s%ickening little sense of dis
aster. Helen hastily unpinned the
brooch from her dress, and stared at 1t
unbelievingly as it lay in her hand.
one Of the larger stones was missing
from the outer circle of diamonds. If
ft had only been one of the smaller
ones she could have replaced il with
out any trouble, but the larger stones
were all over a carat and would cost
more than Helen could afford.
What a shame said one of the
women Are you sure you had the
stone when you came in2 If so per-
haps you viii find it2'
Helen knew just how unlikely that
would be with the crowd as dense as
81 had been this afternoon. Of course
there would be a search for it after the
others had gone, but she wasn't even
sure that she had lost it after she and
Louise had arrived. Perhaps it had
been lOosened by her coat and she had
lost it i'm the subway; if so, she would
never recover if.
The woman at Helen's left sorted her
cards audibly, and Helen realized that
they did not consider Nthe loss of the
stone Of enough Of enough Importance
to stop the game or even delay it. She
picked up her cards and began to ar
range her hand. After all it made lit
tie or nc difference to women Of their
stamp whether or not they lost so IN
important a stone as a carat diamond.
Although no one of the women was
dressed any better than Helen, all three
were rOwded with Jewels and bore all
external violence Of being wealthy.
Helen could have cried with the unfair
ness Of the thing.
She Trumps Ace Of Her Partner.
Conscious that she was playing very
badly, things went from bad to worse.
Her partner declared a no-trump hand,
and Helen, hardly knowing what she
was doing, made it hearts, when she
had nothing to make it on. They lost
the hand, and in the next round Helen
trumpet her partners ace. This was
an almost ineXcusable blunder, one hat
Helen realized without the angry eXcla-
nation from her partner, and at the
end Of the hand she was thankful to
move on to another table, for in spite
Of her blunder she and her partner
were high.
Somewhat Modified, the woman spoke
TO Helen as they were moving to an
otEer table.