Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-02-22
AND HERE IT CONTINUES
"CIvE me-hic somethin' on

I'VE Hc ' v"
" that" he hiccoughcd. Might Us
we'll make a clean up, chg
The croupier took the ring. exam.
ined It critically for an instant, and
handed it back. -. -,
"I'm sorry" he said; ''but you
know the rules Of the house. couldn, 7
advance anything on 1t ifit were worth
a million. But the stones valuable,
all right. You'd better take a trip 10
Persia"
The man replaced the ring with some
difficulty upon his finger, ana stareu
owlishly at the croupier.
ITO hell with your--h,c TIP ,.o 10
Persia =" he said thickly: Don nke
Persia! Been-hic there peiore
Guess I'll go home " A..
The man negotiated his way 10 s ,ne
door; the game went on: Jonn E.ui.
began to increase his stakes mater'al,y
A trim to Persia. What. exactly, did
that mean? 1t both piqued his curiosity
and stirred his suspicious. He smiled
as he placed n heavy stake upon the
table. It would probably be q muc1
more EXPENSIVE trip to his fancitui fer.
sin than TO the Persia OF reality, 10,
it seemed that one must 50 broke nrst
Well. he would go broke--though u
would require some little hnesse ioi
John Bruce, the millionaire plungcr' tt
sttain That cnvious situation withou'
exciting suspicion. He was very keenl!
Interested in this personally conducted
tour. obviously inauyurated by that ex'
ouisite little man, Monsieur Paul d'
John Bruce to his inward chagrin-
won. He began to play now WIN
zcst. eaeerncss and excitement when
heretofore. the juggling Of Mephis.
topheles' money had deprived him OF
Outwardiy, however. the calm linpas
siyeness that. in the few evenings az
had been in the house. had already wor
him the reputation of being par exec.
lcncc a cool and ncrvy plungcr re-
mained unchanged. ,.
lie continued to win for while ~. nv
/ then suddenly he began to lose; Ihl'
was much better! lie lost steadily now
He staked with lavish hand. playing hu
merous long chances FOR the nmit u
hail Finally. the last Of his visible as
scts were on the table, and he lcane.
forward to watch the fall OF the ball
lie was already lingering the magnih
cent jcweled watch fob that danglc
from the pocket Of his evening clothes
Zero" ry,nounccd the croupier.
The zero had been one or ms sc
lectiors. The zero" paid 3o to ].
4 s,,bducd ripple Of excitement wen
m from, around the table. The roor
was fllinc up. The still early comers
n,nstiw sncciators for the time being
lmred to the roulette table Mt the whis
ncr that the millionaire plunger was au
tonight TO break the bank. were whet
ting their own appetitcs In the play =
Nr John Bruce. who had obviously JUS
ESCAPED being broke himself by ver
Jnbn Brucc smiled. lie was in fund
again-morc so than pleased him
"It's zero night. Mr.. Croupicr'
observed John Bruce pleasantly. lt'
her again.. ,. 1oh,, pu,o,
The zero" and his other comoinauo,'
were MS shy and elusive as fawns. a
tho cxniration of another half hour tn
net result OF John Bruce's play con
sisted in his having transferred from ~
own kccping into the keeping OF ti
Now York branch thirty thousand dol
lars of Ncphjstophclcs' money. lie wa
70 all appearances fngrantly broke. 4
for ss funds in his immediate pOsscssio
we're concerned. , ,.,
! whimsical smile, that ! didn't brin
cnougb with me. don't know wheI
7 can get any more tonight. and-o.
here =" He laughed with easy grace {
he suddenly tossed his jcweled water
fob to the croupier. 'One more MN
anyhow--I've still unboundcd faith
zero. Let me have a thousand q
that. It's worth about two.
| a. -,
: The croupicr, as on the previous o'
, rasion, examined the article, but,
, before. shook his head. , 1,
"I'm awfully sorry. Mr.. Bruce. b,
! it's strictly against the rules. Of Il
, house." he said apologctically., II ca
, fix il for YOU easily enough though.
, YOU care to take trip to Persia.
"a trip TO Persia!' inquired 'ol
= Bruce in n puzzled way. II think
heard you suggest that before this cv'
niny. What's the idea
Some of those around the table we
u smiling.
j., opposite, with laugh. "Only look .
shoot" said John Bruce nonch'
-; lantly. That's good enough! You c;
, book my. pa ssage, Mr.. Croupicr.
y The croupier called an auendar
= smoke to him. and the man left /
=, room. a,
i ut will take a few minutes. NJ
y Brucc--while you are getting your II
$ and coat The doorman will let "
I know" said the crOupier. and with
bow 10 John Bruce resumed the int
rupted game.
John Bruce strolled from the rooI
: and descended TO the lower floor, ]
q a., mud IIhiln A
Z Jake piled him with deicacies he sa
] the doorman emerge from the telcpho
o booth out in the hall. hurry away. al
: presently return. talking earnestly wi
:, Monsieur Henri de Lavergne. The mai
aper, in turn. entered the booth
!, Monsieur Henri de l.avergne chr
' into the supper room after mOmen
Q I'm Just few minutes, Mr.. Bruce,
= there will be slight delay he sa
p cffusiyely. TOO bad to keep you wal
. ing. u,,, .,.o.,o, ,o,. p..o
: He held a wine glass up to the ligh
;, This is very excellent, Monsieur
: Lavcrgne.
Y Monsieur Henri dc Lavcrgne accept
@ the compliment with gratitied bow.
!. "Mr. Bruce is very kind to say 30
t lie said-nnd launched into an elabora
}, apology that Mr.. Bruce should be p
!. to any Inconvenience to obtain I
8 financial accommodation asked for. Il
security that Mr.. Bruce offered was vi
@ questioned. 1t was not that. 1T W
i the rule Of the house. MIR. Bru
d would understand.
Q Mr.. Bruce understood pertectly.
Quite soi'' he said ea1ifuy.
Monsieur Henri ds IAyyghe excus
himself, and left the = * w