Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1914-06-10

and a game of la Observation-Disclosures in
progress in two minutes.
Meanwhile the wine had come. and
Francois. a touch more generous and
more cordial for 1t, was genially sorry
when he won and the stranger must
pay.
"Tiens! We will play again for an
other bottle" he announced with a bit
Of swagger. He was conscious of a
right to spend silver in treating hts
friends. with that fat purse in his
pocket.
No" spoke the stranger-Duplessis,
he had said his name was. NO. ]
have drunk enough. However. If you
feel sensitive at taking the small sum
OF money at my hands-it is a good
franc which the bottle would cost. Eth
bien."
FRANCOIS certainly could not refuse
that; they played, and again he gained.
Again they played, this time doubling
the amount, n again Francois gained.
and again and again, till he felt
ashamed in carrying away all this
money OLA new acquaintance, and at
the same time a cock-sureness that so
lucky a devil as Beaupre might we'll
lose a little and stop at the right
amount. He insisted that the game
should go on. More wine had beer
brought. The excitement. of cards and
excitement of wine met ina heady mix,
ture; Duplessis drank little. though
Francois urged it on him. The luck
began to change; now and then the
stranger won. now and then Beaupre
yet more often now the stranger, til
at length Francois was playing no
with n desire to lose, but with a hope
to gain back something at least of the
considerable UNI which he had lost
Before this he had gon into his poke
and brought out that honorable 90l
francs, and had thrown one louis d'oI
after another on the black table. anc
lost n after another. Yet his con.
f1dence was still stronghold would
turn-this was his lucky day. And nov
ne would not regret carrying away the
strangers n He began to feel &
ilerce eagerness to get the better o,
MS antagonist become so formidable
And q horrible nervousness was creep.
ing over him at the dim vision of s
thought thought kept resolutely or
the confines of his consciousness, ye,
pers1stently pushing fOrward-the
thought that it might be that he coult
win the money back.
With eyes excited and bright on the
table. with fingers swapping out the
CARDS boldly. that thought shook him |
suddenly-he jeered at it and despisee !
1t. 1t was absurd, g%rotesque. He wa.
Beaupre, a rich peasant, a re-
spected n we'll known citizen; more
over, OF good judgment; and moreover
still, lucky. He had been lucky all hI
nfe; always things had turned his way, |
the trick, was not going to fail him now:
"Double!!" he shouted promptly as he
lost again.
And he lost again. The 900 france
We're gone; he gave a note now, on hi
stock. and again he lost. A deathl.
sickening sensation had gripped him
and was holding him; the horrit
ing him in the face; he seemed to fee |
an appalling hot breath from it. HI
tossed off another glass of wine ane
for a moment was dumb Then in
flash he saw what he must do; this wa
of course the last point before the lucl
turned-that was evident. 1t woule
make a fine tale how LIE Francois hae
come within one of losing all he owned
failed HIN. He had drink or his win.
at that crucial moment and called
"Double!" once more in a stout voice
and played-and won. Won back al
he had lost and more-so the tale woult |
run.
And so Francois set down the glass
empty, n for the last time cried the
fatal word-"Double!"
In silence, with a crowd Of silent
men. who In some way had come te
know what was happening. standing
about them. the two played the last
round. And Francois lost.
In silence he signed the note which
gave to the stranger his house and fur
niture n land, all that he had in the
world, and stood up and looked about
at the faces gathered as IL astonished
A long second he looked at them; ther
he bent and stared from the low open
window which faced him. and the men
following his eyes, saw with a manner
Of shock that they were focused on the
distant village of Vicques and on the
church standing separated at one enc
Of it, and on the house next, his home
With that he stood straight. n Eel;
through h crowd without q word, and
out Of the doorway. and. plunged for.
ward with strides which lurchef
drunkenly. But he was not drunk.
CHAPTER VII.