. I had arrived in town too late to go to the
bank, and I was carrying an uncomfortably large sum in gold-bills. As
I opened the wallet to extract a small bill, I saw the stranger eying
me quietly. Well, well, the dullest being brightens at the sight of
money and its representatives. I drew out a small bill and handed it
to the proprietor. He took it, together with the mask, and sidled over
to the cash-register. The bell gave forth a muffled sound, not unlike
that of a fire-bell in a snow-storm. As he was in the act of wrapping
up my purchase, I observed the silent customer's approach. When he
reached my side he stooped and picked up something from the floor.
With a bow he presented it to me.

"I saw it drop from your pocket," he said; and then when he saw what it
was, his jaw fell, and he sent me a hot, penetrating glance.

"The ten of hearts!" he exclaimed in amazement.

I laughed easily.

"The ten of hearts!" he repeated.

"Yes; four hearts on one side and four on the other, and two in the
middle, which make ten in all,"--raillery in my tones. What the deuce
_was_ the matter with everybody to-night? "Marvelous card, isn't it?"

"Very strange!" he murmured, pulling at his lips.

"And in what way is it strange?" I asked, rather curious to learn the
cause of his agitation.

"There are several reasons,"--briefly.

"Ah!"

"I have seen a man's hand pinned to that card; therefore it is
gruesome."

"Some card-sharper?"

He nodded. "Then again, I lost a small fortune because of that
card,"--diffidently.

"Poker?"

"Yes. Why will a man try to fill a royal flush? The man next to me
drew the ten of hearts, the very card I needed. The sight of it always
unnerves me. I beg your pardon."

"Oh, that's all right," said I, wondering how many more lies he had up
his sleeve.

"And there's still another reason. I saw a man put six bullets into
the two central spots, and an hour later the seventh bullet snuffed the
candle of a friend of mine. I am from the West."

"I can sympathize with you," I returned. "After all that trouble, the
sight of the card must have given you a shock."

Then I stowed away the fatal card and took up my bundle and change. I
have in my own time tried to fill royal flushes, and the disappointment
still lingers with a bitter taste.

"The element of chance is the most fascinating thing there is," the
stranger from the West volunteered.

"So it is," I replied, suddenly re