| Show ILJPrE ciiis or MONTE CARLo 1 BEING REMINISCENCES of LCITING I < PLRSONAU1 XP1JRIINCIaSf MONSIURANIOING RTIN J il AlHRPcT10R ofthe SURVEUvIvANOr ICNT CIIRONIC1A D1 < oClfevAUCRWILUAMlJBQSiUX D1 II QUFUX 1M8 by W a Chapman Copyright In Great Drltaln Pfrlsht anel the United C Chapman States by Vm te QueuxJ tHEIR SERENE UGLINESSES ANY are tho strange phenomena 1 M phenom-ena In our garish fevered world wherein day by day x thero accumulate nil tho caprices ca-prices all the fantasies all the eccentricities all the superstl be < < dons and all the ambitions a turbulent world where gold Is king ttere millions In hard yellow na dance before the dazzled oleons where million res of tho ruined tho maximum as Ires toss away hough It were u livefranc piece and irlnces barons grand dukes titled adles and ladles of grando marquo el all with the scum of Europe < to loughtfnlly place down their stakes r eagerly grab their winnings Among the professional habitues of be roomsthose men who for a few onls a day will place the money of ay timid gambler Ignorant of the imc was one who although wild ad reckless was nevertheless a very ood > fellow Ho had been an English < 3cer and was known to tho croupiers c Capt Drmmnond although I have eason to believe that was not his awe We were excellent friends id on many occasions when weary Into private room e i would slip my id gossip over a cigar One evening in lato autumn ho en Bred laughing as usual and sinking ito the chair opposite mo exclaimed lib a laugh Im In for a real good thing now artln Congratulate me Oh I exclaimed Interested Has iraebody died and remembered you No not that he answered grim r I only wish somebody would Ian I-an through my little bit too quickly r I shouldnt be here No Two rIs have engaged me to play for hem Theyve got half a million francs ter at the Credit Lyonnals and in end putting It on tho tables A slice of luck for oueh I ughcd Who are they pretty No tho reckless damsels are arcey prepossessing ho answered lowly They saw me playing this lornlng Inquired of Grenat who I sa spoke to me and the result Is at we start tomorrow a regular Igbust The girls wont tell whore hey hall from Thqyro cither Eng < eh or American They gave me their ames as Treherne Helen and label labelWell Well I observed after a pause its fortunate for them that theyve alIen Into your hands Drummond ertalnly nobody else who takes commissions com-missions could bo trusted with n level alt million Ah he laughed Youre In a ompllmentary mood today my dear How One thing is certain that the auk will get some of the money ad Hornier will rub his hands con nledly What do they Intend playing Roulette of course the captain aswered biting at the end of his gar They say theres not enough wltemcnt In trenteetquarante Theyll find both gumes pretty ex tng In about a week when they bon bo-n to lose I remarked I expect therell be some fun before Vw finished ho laughed as wo hook hands Just now Im tho gay hiser of n couple of girls with half THHoii at my disposal Lust night had to wallt down to La Condamine ad get a twofranc dinner Couldnt lord the table dhoto at tho Paris H > oe this Is a funny world isnt Itr 1 I admitted that It was and with a frry au tovolr he left me to go to II rooms to dress for ho had prom Ed to dlno that night with his fair Plojers over at the Metropole artd Awards to instruct them In the cades of the game kttt nfUmoon I saw them at the rut mulctto In the center They had I three btnlncd chairs at the open F5of the play and wore engrossed In e chancoo Of the black and thu red mmondp estimate that they were at very prepossessing was certainly treet They were exceptionally ugly nth were tall and thin with willowy lures nnriow bony faces of un I ealtjy pallor their dark oyeg burn Wlth lllmatllral oxcltemeut as thor etched their mentor place their lolls I Position on tho various numbered wares they were well dressed in Wt 8eiro tallormudo stylo which Is < < Uarly English l for only un Eng fonian can wear a tailor mudo 10 Sir 1 other nationalities look lt1cly lllllcoila In I cloth dresses of to uilno facture Their faces wore rte and their hats wero alike but e shade of thulr rosst were lit rent the ° der one who I learned a I Helln being dressed In green Mill llabci In dark gray When Inimmond clinking tho louls his hat I ns ho considered what lUbloatllin of lumbers ho should lay a habit of his had finished pla clng them a cheval and on pleln the croupiers warning voice rose above the chatter and a few seconds Intel hero came the announcement Ooze Nolr Impalre ot manque He had a louIs en plum one on the second six and one on tho first dozen therefore after hit losses had boot raked In ho received as his gain COO francs A look of extreme satisfaction overspread over-spread tho features of the Misses Tre horne and tho elder scribbled sonic thing In the little silverbound bool they had brought In which to record their winnings Urutntnoml was exceedingly luck that afternoon t Very soon the pile 01 gold and notes before him Increased until he deemed It wise to exchange r few hundred louis for notes Indeed III one hour the party had won S00 francs Mabel placing the eight note O = o = = = Mabel who liniwferred them to her Ballot which now contained 13000 trines clear winnings and this In a lit uo over nn hour I left and nearly an hour elapsed ere I returned to tho gaming rooms They had llllnl ns they always do lato In the nfuinoon when tho trains come in from Nice and people were standing four deep around Drum rounds good fortune however scorned to have taken a turn Ho had lost about half the days capital and 111 luck seemed to persistently follow him The look of satisfaction upon tho faces of lie Misses Treherno had almost al-most disappeared Its really no use to play longer I 1 heard him remark to his two companions com-panions We must be content to day Shall we go Both expressed willingness to act as he suggested and all three rose and walked off the two girls giving vent to the observations which had perforce per-force remained pent up during play On the morrow however they I played again at tho same table Stacked In little piles before them i were about GOOO francs In louis and Drummond was testing his chance of playing always on the transversales of three numbers for which the bank stake pays 11 times the Itlen no va plus cried tho croupier crou-pier as I approached Dlx Nolr pair et manque Drummond won having a louis on tho numbers 1011 and 12 Eleven louis were pushed towards him his stake remained where he had fore placed It With a good players the sight he put another louis upon one already on tho transvfrsilc Agnln the cylinder revolved and the ball dropped Douzo Rouge pair et manque Ho had won This time ho received 22 louis or 460 francs To leave his third time was toe stake there a risky so taking up ono of tho coins ho placed the other on the trans Versalo of 10 17 and 18 winnIng again as the last number came up That however was tho last of his for afterwards ho lost good fortune persistently until the whole of the I days capital had disappeared Then bonyfaced glrlj they rose and the two strolled about discontentedly A week passed and they lost heavily played One oven ily every time the Ing I was dining In the new restauran of the Cafe do Paris with a friend n police commissary from Clormont torrau1 and soon after tine commencement com-mencement of tho meal the Misses Tre iierne entered and took tho table next to ours Drummond was not with them Ho preferred eating with some ot his frleml down at tho Kuropo to the companionship of this strangely plain pair who bad come to ling away their money so recklessly Hoth wore In I decollete Helen In pale blue and Ma bel In rose both scraggy and bony necked whllo tho jewels they wore wore noteworthy oven for Monte Carlo Mnnon was to bo performed that evening and I judged by the fact they carried fans that they wore going thereIn there-In nn undertone 1 explained to my frlond Kstcvo who they wore and their object In coming to Monte Carlo whereat ho laughed and turning glanced at them Mon diet ho gasped What faces I No wonder they want tocon coal their identity Hut your friend Drummond and the bank will profit so what does It matter Whllo eating i kopt my ears open to catch their conversation I do hate our table dhoto I heart Mabel exclaim In a low tono Wo never know but what wo may meet somebody wo know there and Its so much quieter here Whatever has como to you the elder sister asked Of lato youre as nervous as a kitten Well 1 cant help it tho other re piled then lowering her voice to a whisper added I think sometimes that this man Drummond has his sus vicious Havent you noticed the strange way ho seems to regard us when were not looking Iooh Its merely your foolish fancy Helen answered How can he know how can anybody know Her sister was silent for a few moments Weve lost today I reckoned up l rA r Gb 2 r f 1 H r p I I l if I I J I j I L r 4 i STANDING BEFORE HIM PALE AND AGITATED I FOUND DRUMMOND had brought with her In the wallet she for their capital 1 still remained Intact Ten minutes later zero turned up it with louis upon and Drummond a 700 francs With the experience won had bought so dearly In the past ho tho lOp francs on ho placed a note for francs number nine and ono for 150 backing the two numbers on 27 thus which usually follow on zero cried tho monot Ileln no va plus voice onous breathless In sisters Treherne The strained their eyes In the expectation direction of the wheel which slowly Blackened until the ball gave a sudden bound and foil Impair et Vhngt sept Hougo passel Wovo won cried Mabel excitedly excited-ly Isnt it jolly ante francs en plein Ceutcinquanto cxcUunl drawing the tho croupier exclalmll towards him with his rake The noto lost but the nine was 100 francs opening on the little box before crouplor bundle of 1000 franc out a him took folded swiftly them counted und them pushed them towards hem together with a smile of wards Drummond recognition them and ran opened Thocann through them The sum he tart won over GOOO francs was to notes He handed the hlRhor before we camo out she said nt last We lost today 11000 francs In three quarters of an hour Well We can surely afford that Remember what wo won on tho first day Wo must expect some losses What about our half u million Mabel asked They both laughed as If enjoying the huge Joke of losing such a re Hpeclnblo amount Tho Misses Trehorne finished their meal hurriedly as It was growing late and went forth to tho theater while wo sat Idling over our cigars and liqueurs chatting as men of the same profession are apt to chat Somo half hour later however Drummond smart In his dining jacket and we11 lied black bow strolled In and recognizing me croEBCil and sat down at our table Well I inquired nnd hows the play going for tho talk at Monte Carlo is ever of the play GoIng he exclaimed as ho helped himself to a Ilenedictlne Why as dead ngimibt us as it can Those girls are bigger fools than I took them to be Theyll lllnj all theyve got aNyay and then blame me I expect H Lost J much I Inquired Nearly a hundred thousand he nn swered without removing his cigar What wovo won theyve banked lu a separate account Something like CO 000 francs I think How do you get on with them Y I I asked being nwaro from observation that ho had grown j n bit careless of I lato Jack Drummond was tired of these perpetual losses Fire fact Is old fellow ho answered an-swered their faces have brought mo Infernally bad fortune nnd Im utterly sick of the whole affair Tomorrow they nro going to draw out tho remainder re-mainder of the halt n million and were going for tho tables with tho maximum win or lose Inure despen ato I laughed addIng add-Ing Save enough for tho vlattque Now thats cruel ho said with a grim smile Well Ill try and arrange so that they wont havo to give a noto of1mml to Hornier to enable them to return re-turn to Iximlnn Goodnight and rising ho went jauntily out Care and losses alike sat lightly on the I shoulders of that born sportsman Next day I saw nil threo sitting at tho center of the first left hnnd table the ono where Sv many hugo coups have boon made from time to time during tho mist five or six years It IR u tablo particularly In favor with tho professional gambler for tho wheel I seems to run with greater regularity thero than at the others nnd It IH therefore known to tho habitues as the lucky corner At this tnblo one afternoon zero turned up six times In succession followed by tho nuinbei six which also camo six times In succession suc-cession tho most curious run which has over been known during tho years tho rooms hive been open On that afternoon 11 fortunate gambler won 72000 francs on those 12 turns of the cylinder Play had already opened an hour before I entered Drummond was sitting I sit-ting between the pair nud ns I stood watching I saw that label had beneath be-neath her hand her stout leather allot al-lot already bulging With notes they had won Hoforo Drummond was n I formidable nllo of notes of oounl value m n n I each for 1000 francs and nt every Invitation to play ho staked six notes constituting the maximum upon tho red or the black tho pair on the Impair Tlmo after time ho won lire ro speotnhle sum of 0000 francs his orlg dual stake always remaining on the I I table although he changed Its position from tlmo to time After nearly hall an liour he bent and consulted Helena card whereon she was keeping a leg later of tho game then placed 16C francs en incur on the number 34 and a similar amount on 17 Rein no va plus cried tho croupier crou-pier sharply a moment later adding Dix septl Nolr impair ct manque I I Drummond milled The girls bent and whispered to each other nod the croupier handed to Mabel a bundle ol 500 franc notes which she tried to push Into her already filled wallet but could not Will you ictnaln playing I heard Helen say to the captain Wo are going over to the Credit Lyonnals to bank this before they close Wo slmilt be more than ten minutes I How much havo wo won today ho Inquired I Ono hundred and eightynine thousand thou-sand francs she answered glancing nt her book as her sister and herself I rose and left the table Their seats were quickly occupied by two men and Drummond who still had before him a pile of notes for about 70000 francs continued playing with tho maximum upon tho red or black losing once or twice but very often winning Ho certainly had unusual un-usual luck for when ono Is desperate as the two sisters wore one Is seldom able to make a coup About an hour had elapsed I was busy In my room writing a report when an attendant entered breathlessly breathless-ly with scared face summoning to tho office of M Hornier tho director general where to my surprise I found Drummond standing before him palo and agitated together with tho chef do purtlo and two of the croupiers Upon the directors table lay a pile of 1000franc notes It appeared that ten minutes before the croupier In handling ono of tho notes which Drummond had lost was attracted by tho strange harshness of tho paper and examined It only to find It spurious but so well done as almost al-most to defy detention Play was Instantly stopped and by tho orders I of tho chef de pai tie the captain was conducted to M Hornier In reply to his interrogation he explained that I tho notes were those given him that morning by tho older Miss Trehorno and It was possible that she had been imposed upon Such however was certainly not tho case for messages sent to tho Mctropole and to tho Credit Lyonnals brought back disappointing disap-pointing Information At lira hotel nothing had been seen of them since tell oclock that morning and at tho bank It was stated that they had never had half a million deposited there Within tho past week they had deposited depos-ited 1COOOO francs their winnings but had drawn thin out early that morning I auccceded In tracing tho pair to tho Italian frontier at Vontlmillo but after that nothing appear tc have I been seen of them From the numhor of forged 1000 frano notes found In the bank at tho various tables at tho jnd of that day It was apparent that nearly all the I notes which Drummonrt had been I placing for tine past week had been I spurious and Ihln accounted for the pair preferring to keep their winnings gcparntoqi As far as wo could calculate calcu-late the Casino left by tho artful In sonulty of these sisters somothlni like oOOOOO > francs Itl addition to tholr gains of 31U000 J fniucis whqh they car I rlqd away In their pockets c AH oivIaqk Drununond Jio JB Mill I among the most habitual of players and 1s still uiy frloni I r |
