New Britain herald., 1924-07-16
NOW GO ON WITH THE STORY

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 It is nothing, In little while you
 will make some successful eonpsi
 your husband will repay me; we will
 order champagne and laugh together
 at your moment Of despair"
 Icily contemnuous. she disdalned
 him. She laid a slimp beautiful hand
 upon her husbands shoulder. "come
 Jack" she said again.
 This time the young man obeqed
 her. He rose, and they walked of
 together. But 1 noticed that tho
 Russian accompanied them. I fell
 n pang of pity for the young English.
 man and his American bride.
 could guess 1t all so easily; honey
 moon trip to Monte Carlo. tho fas-
 cination Of roulette: the unantici.
 pated losses. the plunGing to recoup the sinister friend who encouraged
 them to wager more than they could
 afford. It is a story that has always
 been told, and always will be told,
 when wealth craves youth and
 beauty. Sometimes youth and
 beauty escape, but how frequent are
 the other times!
 But after all, it was none of my
 business. should have liked to drop
 word of warning in the young mans
 ear, but if his wife's caution was un- | needed by him, of wh:yt avail would be the word of stranger?
 So l returned to the game. The little incident had passed unnoticed, They are sophisticated lot at Monte: and everything. even death itself, is dismissed with shrug and a smile.
 And now the red returned. l lost thrice in succession. shifted my al- legiance, and beheld black turn up. In disgust I rose and walked to an- other table. l arrived in time to see the Baronne d'Esterelle being paid off, She had backed seventeen for the maximum in half dozen ways, and was receiving from the admiring croupiers, always insolently solicit ous for tips. nearly forty thousand francs. The spectacle was disgust ing. had just seen woman of rare beauty suffering because her husband had lost sixth of what this profiteer's wife had won. My sym pathy is with loyeliness and charm. So went to another table.
 Fortune eluded me. I sought her at every table in the Cercie Prive, and then l looked for her in the public rooms outside. But still she escaped me. Glancing at my watch, found that 1t was 10 o'clock, and so decided to try my luck at the Sport ing club, that other establishment maintained by the Casino authorities, where the fashion and wealth of the world assemble. And if 1t be won- dered at that I had secured entree to this place, let wonderment cease. One merely mentions the name Of well-known club, anywhere in the world, claims membership therein, and is elected to the Sporting club. It calls itself exclusive, but no temple of vice-and gambling is vice--can be too rigorous in its scrutiny of ap- picants for admission. After all, the ultimate test of fashion, or society, is the possession of money. With | enough money one can ruffle 1t with the King of England, With the ap- pearance of money, one can fhifle 1t with the Kings cousin at the tables of the Sporting club.
 So I descended in the elevator to | the underground passage that leads from the Casino, through the Hotel | de Paris, to the Sporting club, and in | another elevator rose to the gambling | rooms.
 Duchess and demimondaine, mar uuis and munitions maker, prin- cesses, entrepreneurs, brewers, mill lionaires, royalties, actors, authors, | chorus girls, and perhaps even such others of my own profession as may be found in any cosmopolitan gather were all in the Sporting | club.
 I went first 10 the cosy little bar. with it's inviting tea-tables at which so little tea is drunk. I ordered glass of milk. I find that the bever- age is soothing to the nerves, and nerves need soothing when one gambes, even though for small stakes. While I drank it, I surveyed the little room. And there in the alcove I saw the American girl, her husband, and the big Russian whom he had called the Prince" They were evidently ending discussion. For I saw the Russian hand the young han a sheaf of bank-notes, saw the girls expression of despondency, and noted the grin of triumph on the Princes face. The jaws of the wolf were near, felt, to the white throat of the quarry Then the young man eaped to his feet, and rushed for the The girl would have followed, but the Russian whispered .o her. His thick, hairy hand rested on her wrist. She shuddered, but ,he stayed.
 Well, once again 1t was no busi- ness of mine. ! wandered into the Salon de Roulette. and at the end able began backing the first dozen. For half an hour I had varying luck, ind then the young Englishman ,ame to my table. His face was hag- gard. Evidently those successful ,oups which the Prince had men toned had not yet been made by him. And within the next ten minutes I ;aw him lose as many thousand rancs. rise from the table. and with 4t, Il |