Show pi BIGING pr PERSONAL OP RTIN ap the DEPA A MUNT the LE QUEUX 1 k t va copyright 1908 by W G chapman copyright in great britain and the united states by win wm le 1 queux queue I 1 THE MAN WITH wa TH THE CLAWS CLY A faite vos beux above the jingle of coin the rustle ot of notes the click of the tiny ivory ball and the hum of many voices that monotonous dent cry which has en ell so many to ruin and so few to fortune rings ever ir the ears of those who fall be neath the fase nation aka of that most exacting of mistresses dame roulette in the great gilded sa ions where the light of day is ex eluded by curtains of black and crim son muslin where the senses are be mildered wil dered by an apparent disregard of wealth and where the atmosphere is heavy with that taint faint odor of per and perfume it is t the he same invitation to play rising above all other sounds 3 ear in year out sun days and weel days messieurs falces vos beux aux to frequenters of monte carlo I 1 re quire little introduction they know me perhaps as a familiar figure of rather funereal aspect in frock coat and slid black tie strolling aimlessly about sometimes watching the play at this table or at that but more often keeping close observation on oi one or other of 0 the players who I 1 ke moths around a candle are attracted to the tapis veit by golden expectations I 1 am an observer by profession having graduated under mons lions goron chief of the pans paris kurete and afterwards served a term as croupier at the rou lette tables whence I 1 rose to be chef de partie partle and afterwards became ap pointed to the office I 1 now hold As ch ell ef of the surveillance depart ment my office Is no sinecure for truth to tell the cercle des strangers Et rangers de monaco Is the sink of europe an I 1 interesting procession of malefactors and criminals of th upper class seems to filter through our salons year by year in blissful ignorance of the fact that when they mount the them carpeted steps from the place they are simply w albing into an international pol ce bureau little da do they dream that it if warrants warrant are out for their arrest it is more than probable that in one of the large albums in my private room be hind the bureau where they present i resent their fictitious visiting cards to obtain their carte d admission there reposes a well executed counterfeit present ment of themselves together with a brief and pointed statement of their offense in these heavy albums each devoted to a separate country I 1 have a truly cosmopolitan collection nearly every region on the face of the earth contributes its quota to my gallery of celebrities tor for uli whenever enever a de delinquent lin quent is known to have obtained a consider able sum of money by his crime h s description or his photograph is at once forwarded to me tor for the fatal fascination which the roulette wheel exorcises unon udon those guilty of the more ser ous fenes offences of is truly astonish ing yet when once they are lecog nihed either by myself or my as si stants they the have as little chance of escape as they have of winning a zero or the ami de la Is maison as we I 1 now it familiarly on their first throw to discuss the morality of this the most picturesque spot on the whole littoral or to hold a brief for or against the tables is not my intention to describe it as a hell within a para pars dise will perhaps suffice much has already been written abo about t wild gaming and its dire results much that is true but more that is false yet now tor for the first time will be shown in these reminiscences the manner in which the administration of tho the cercle des strangers Et rangers renders as sic tance to the police of europe As may readily be image imagined led a good many romances in real life pass be neath the notice of one whose days are spent at a spot where drama is continuously being played and where it is not infrequently varied by tragedy truly ours Is a strange world the world of monte carlo high p ay or a run of luck at aiwas ay s interests me tired as I 1 am of the eternal stales of single five bianc pieces and it was this eagerness to watch heavy risks which one after neon attracted me to that roulette table which stands at the further end to the right of the entrance to the brente et rante rooms it was the height of the riviera season a bright balmy day in early february a few days before carnival the sea outside was turquoise the sky cloudless and the gardens were looking their best and brightest but as usual utterly neglected by those eager broads A glance a aund the table showed me that something unus lal ial was in ress the croupiers who are changed each hour chanced to be all 3 soung oung mer and with such a party the game was wah always asi last a d furious they made it their boast that when ever these six came together they played twice as quickly as the fogies fogies did messieurs baltes vos beux rose sharply as I 1 approached the chair of th c et ef de part e and at th same in aaa the croup er reversed the a I 1 t black wheel and with a twist of I 1 th 1 launched the ivol ball on I 1 the way may along the circular led e he excited players threw heir s I 1 er and gold on the aars rs the dozens the rouge the noir and the imparl then they waited breath lessly suddenly jast as the ball was losing its impetus a tall dark bearded rath er handsome man with a pair of black piercing per cing eyes wh ch ell seemed to gleam with an almost unnatural bril hance thrust his gloved hand into his pocket and carelessly tossed some notes upon the table without counting them at the same time exclaiming demiere bouza ne in an instant the croupier spread them open saying trots mille francs premiere dou don zaine scarcely had these words been ut when there arose the inevitable earning gitein ne va plus I 1 for a single second there was a dead silence as all eyes watched the tiny ball while it fell with a rattle and final click into one of the small sockets on the cyl ader and ere it had touched the number the croupier am ani bounced in the same sharp voice neuf rouge impair et manque and with his rake commenced to draw in the losses the man mail who mho had flung down his notes so carelessly muttered some th thug ng to himself as it if counting and took the six thousand francs he had won handing back the three thousand he had staked saying premiere colonne again the invitation to play rose aboe above all other sounds and loungers attracted from other tables crossed to watch the sensational stakes I 1 asked one of the blue coated attendants whether the player had been winning and the reply was that he bad had lost only once and that he had played al ways with the same stakes three thousand flance then returning to to the table I 1 stood next him the moment the stranger s notes were placed on the small square at the end of the table beneath the num her ber 36 gold and silver were showered upon it by those determined to follow the play of favorite of fortune the wheel was spun pun the ball ejected elected and a few moments later in the breathless tens on wh ch ell followed arose the words dix hult huit I 1 rouge pair et mana ie again the stranger had won the smaller stakes were paid first then the croupier handed him six notes each for a thousand francs this time he placed all the notes in his pool poet et together with the three thousand he had staked and producing a note tor for a hundred francs tossed it on zero the chance was too small to suit the major ty of the play placers ers and only a couple of five franc pieces were placed beide beside it re n ne va plus sounded almost before the stal es could be placed on fhe ball gave a little jump then fell with a sharp click click click brente deux beux cried the croupier loudly with that roll of the r which frequenters of monte carlo know so well the stranger with a muttered word which sounded ery very much III e an oath turned away having lost for the first time but richer by many tho asand francs than half an hour before those around the table envied him bis his luck and many mostly of the english tour 1st clas clams admired his self control in leaving immediately after his first loss it if every one did so there would be fewer ruined fortunes and the bank would profit less with both hands deep in his pod ets and a d scon look on his face an expression rather as though he had lost heavily than gained he fie strolled away into the brente et quarante room beyond whether it was the curious look of up pressed excitement in his eyes that caused me to keep his dejected figure in sight I 1 I 1 now not yet by some intuition I 1 felt that about this man who was certainly not an of the rooms was something mys cerious one tact fact was strange when he ie had drawn from his vest pocket the hundred franc note he had taken out with it a third class return railway I 1 ticket men as well R ell dressed do not usually travel to monte carlo third class again as I 1 watched matched him cross the poll polished hed floor I 1 saw that although his coat and vest were mere well cut and that he wore a heavy gold albert yet his trousers were frayed at the hot toms baggy at the knees and altogether geth r d A dozen times as I 1 strolled back wards and forwards the length of the rooms lounging here and there I 1 caugh his full face and profile it was blat tl at of a man strong willed excited beneath a calm exterior and debating within himself whether he sho should uld continue playing the face was not the original ot of any in my collect on from table to table he strolled pausing to glance at the play until tie he passed out into the great atrium at that moment failed filled with the crowd emerging from the concert eert room As I 1 went out by the entrance door I 1 ed to grena the head door keeper pointing out and ordering him if he again entered to look al at his card and at once send his name to me leisurely the stra ger made his way to the end of the hall entered the small bar and orda ed a glass ol 01 lemonade by the manner in which he ordered it I 1 at once I 1 new that he was wag acquainted with mith the casino for every stranger orders whisky or brandy in ignorance that no intoci cants are sold having swallowed it at a gulp he turned and made his way bad into the rooms well I 1 asked grenat a few mo ments later what s his name emile tess er was the reply at once I 1 entered the bureau of the administration and from the register discovered that a card of addiss on had that afternoon been issued to one emile tessier who had given his na tiona lity as french and his address at the hotel lies iles at men alen tone again I 1 went into the gaming rooms where I 1 found him standing watching one of the center roulette tables through the remainder of that aft ernson he lounged leisurely about the rooms sometimes interested in the play but never risking anything high er than a five franco france piece until near ly seven 0 clock when he obtained his hat and coat and left the casino As soon as I 1 saw his intention I 1 also obtained my hat and took a short cut through the gardens to the steps lead ing down to the railway station at the top of the steps I 1 overtook an old decrepit man hunchbacked and shab shah by who leant heavily on his stout stick and was about to descend he had been speaking with a man whose dark figure I 1 saw disappearing in the direction of the basino casino beneath the light I 1 glanced at the deformed man mans s face it was the successful player in the darkness of the gardens he had as fumed his ragged overcoat turned his soft felt hat into another shape and with an altered expression ot of heavy care and inexpressible sorrow had elected a transformation that was little short hort of marvelous indeed were it not for the fact that I 1 heard him cough and recognized it as the cough of the man who had won so many thousands at the tables even I 1 should have tailed failed to identify him in that instant I 1 became convinced that my suspicions were not un founded and further that the was deenet than I 1 had imagined at the station instead of remaining on th platform for mentone he crossed lie 10 line and entered the omni bus traia for nice while I 1 also mounted into a first class compart ment determined to see where he really blied my curiosity being now thoroughly aroused that there was some deep dep purpose in this complete disguise I 1 felt confident but what it nv was as I 1 could not imagine when he got out at nice he had talen tal en off his overcoat and carrying it over his arm wall ed erect in nat ural attitude I 1 fol followed lomed him down the avenue de la gare across the place massena and on to the promenade where he d sapp eared into the hotel des anglais anglaia he had given an ancor address and it was strange that a first class elass hotel should care to take in a man who wore such shabby trus ers after 20 minutes or so I 1 in quiren at the bureau of the hotel and discovered that the stranger who had thus aroused my curiosity was known as mons lions tessier and tl at in the reg ister he had inscribed himself as a landed proprietor living near bay onne I 1 tool my dinner leisurely at the helder afterwards returning to monte carlo utterly mystified ext day I 1 had many affairs to at tend to and completely forgot the curious incident until about tour four 0 clock in the afternoon when a cough behind me sounded familiar and there I 1 saw the mysterious stranger sti anger stand ing at the right hand roulette table just within the entrance attired gayly in a suit of light gray with a pink carnation in his lapel he was mas watching matching the play intently it was strange how that cough attracted me I 1 reasoned with myself but could not account for it true I 1 had only first heard it on the previous day yet it now seemed curiously familiar prom from his nervous action I 1 saw that he intended playing therefore in order to watch him more intently I 1 whispered a word to the chef de par tie and took his place on the high chair behind the croupier the ball was already in motion when the stranger placed a note tor for a thousand francs upon a ol 01 the last six numbers trenta deux beux rouge pair et pase cried the croupier almost alm ost next instant I 1 watched his face although he had won no smile of satisfaction played about his thin lips his was a gray ashen countenance from which all hol ho e and all desire seemed to have led qed his winnings five thousand francs were pushed towards him but he twisted the notes together and thrust hem into the outside pocket of his jacket with as little care as though they were circulars his manner had changed from the previous day he was now pale to the lips whereas he had been ruddy and healthy looking and his pallor was heightened by his white silk cravat secured by a gold ring again and again he played with unvarying success until with sudden resolve he transferred all his winnings to an inner packet and then tossed a s agle five fra ic piece upon the cen ter dozen the ball tell fell upon number eight he lost then with som muttered words of discontent he turned away it seemed as though having won thou sands of francs he begrudged the loss of a single j ve I 1 did not foil foll IV S j tery irritated in several othel hand nearly a m e him again table where personal app improved speak to h m room clipped and vest which I 1 kept in readiness tor for emergencies eniel agencies and lounged back to the table taking up my stand behind him when he placed played I 1 also put down my modest five franc pieces until he dis berned that I 1 was following his play and glanced back at me inquiringly M has good I 1 ob served ye yea he answered with a laugh but my luck has changed see I 1 ve just lost and he nodded towards a five franc piece beneath the croupier 8 rake rahe together we turned away M is to be congratulated 1 said it Is remarked in the rooms that he never loses I 1 lose sometimes |