-a c
ICAMEOI
By Booth
Tarkington and
Harry Leon
Wilson
COPYRIGHT. 1909. BY THE
i A A A A A A -
Subtle humor, tear impelling
pathos, dueling, lynch law, sui
cide attempted murder, gam
bting, heart entanglement and
realistic character drawing com
bine to make "Cameo Kirby" an
unusual play and an unusual
novel a cameo of modern fic
tion finely graven, richly set; a
word cameo by those master
craftsmen Booth Tarkington and
Harry Lec-n Wilson, whereon are
shifting pictures of the old days
along the Mississippi when the
Natchez and the Robert E. Lee
raced to New Orleans with for
tunes at stake; old days when
gamblers, amateur and profes
sional, won and lost almost un
believable sums on the river
steamers; days when Mark Twain
was a pilot and when the real
life prototype of Jim Bludsa of
the Prairie Belle held "her noz
zle ag'in the bank till the last
galoot" was ashore. A well
born, well intcntioned young man
through association with bad
companions becomes an accom
plished gambler. Falsely ac
cused of murder, he meets a
young girl, with whom he falls
in love. How vital complications
baffle him, how conspiracy
places his life in the balance,
how the love of a pure woman
may work wonders in the regen
eration of a man these themes
and others give Cameo Kirby'
its thrill, its fascination, its pow
erful heart interest.
CHAPTER I.
INK card." 8nld John Kaudall
quietly, extending n band
ns firm ns was Ills voice
For the flrBt time In twen
ty-four hours the debt of intoxication
was paid solely by his eyes, rerhaps
the pile of double eagles strewn before
Llm on the green baize table conveyed
a fugitive and sobering realization of
the present; drove home the fact, us
only burd earned money can, that this
delightful levllntlon of the senses, this
geulul warmth of body and soul, this
Impression that he was a nabob who
might liaznrd with a care free hand,
was purely fictitious' and that the
morning would find him a scpulcher
filled with the decaying bones of dead
emotions and tho living worm of re
morse. That pile of gold twinkling
under the oil Limps In a private state
room of the John V. Shot well repre
sented one-tenth of his yearly Income,
and yet ho was blithely slaking It on
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CAUKO KIR11Y K1UUED A UKUONA1B AND
, . ItAKISU AIM Ob I'Ut KB.
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the turn of a Blugle card at poker, for
that was the game that was being
played stak'ug it as indifferently as
he bad staked and lost its predeces
sors. tie pulled himself together with the
air of one who. guilty of a false start.
Is but the more confident of the fu
ture, while he reflected with some
pride that his extended hand was as
steady us that of his impassive oppo
nent. As the cards lay he was beaten,
but luck must eventually change, and
a four card "Inside straight" was his
weakness weakness and strength, for
when he drew to one he "filled."
"Here's luck!" said Colonel Moreau
heartily, extending tho pasteboard.
IVJJ
Amy H i
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Adapted Frcm
the Play of the Same
Name by W. B. M.
Ferguson
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AINSLEE MAGAZINE COMPANY
'It's bound to change some time, suh.
and even n nlggah could beat a measly
yalr of deuces. I'll take three."
Randall glanced nt his euro anu as
he laid it face down on the table
strove to keep the sudden exultation
from his eyes. But as Moreau spread
out his draw, disclosing trash, the
planter lost his momentary self con
trol.
"Drew to an inside straight and
filled It, by gad!" he cried excitedly.
"There's the turn in the tide, colonel!
It rarely ever goes back on me. That's
what I've been waiting foh. Let me
draw to a four card Inside straight
and I'll bet my Immortal soul that I
fill her. Yes, suh."
A satiric gleam dickered in Moreau's
black eyes as ho Indifferently shoved
his lost bet across the table.
"One thousand to yoh, snli," he said
courteously, stifling a yavu-"a nio.u
remarkable example of good fortune
A SATIRIC OLEAM FLICKKIIEU IS iIOllEAt'9
... BLACK tIK3.
nud one that .was ii-coining to yoh.
Allow me, suh, to drink to the turn in
tho tide." And. filling the other's
glass, ho bowed with the most admi
rable courtesy and good feeling.
"You health, colonel," replied the
other thickly, mopping his face with
an Immense silk handkerchief, "and
my compliments fch the sentiment,
suh. I can return tlietn by adding
that the tide had already turned even
befoh I had the pleasure and good for
tune of making job acquaintance, suh.
I reckon that, all iu all, my trip to
New Orleans this year has been very
lucky very lucky, suh foh I have sold
my sugar crop foh ten thousand, a
much higher figure than J reckoned,
considering the poll price of cnue.
And my luck still follows me by per
mitting this indulgence of my favorite
game with u gentleman, suh, of yoh
standing. My plantation is ut Iinque
mine, and"
"The Randalls are well known, suh,"
Interrupted Moreau. with delicate def
erence, which went to the point of re
filling the other's glass "the Randall,
I presume, suh, who so distinguished
himself nt the defeuse of the Alamo?"
This was stated as n known fact
rather than a chance shot, which in
reality it was.
"My brother, suh." gravely replied
the planter, tapping his ample breast
as If lu order to convey the sentiment
that the snme noble spark of heroism
smoldered therein, awaiting but a fit
ting opportunity of burning its own
er's name on the immutable pages of
history. "Peace hath her victories no
less renowned than war," he added
oracularly, instinctively reaching for
his glass, "and It was my fortune to
stay at hoine nnd loVik after the pluuta-tlon-vwhile
my hrothenhad It out with
the Mexicans. If the Randalls are
well known, suh, it is uot through me.
My yearly trip 10 New Orleans is the
exteut of my traveling, and my chil
dren, suh. have the felicity to regit rd
me as tho most guileless creation that
the Almighty ever turned out. Illess
fchelr innocent hearts! They never sus
pect what a thoroughpaced man of
the world I am. Why. suh. the advice
they give me when 1 start out on these
trips would cover the late Urd Ches
terfield with confusion, suh. They
warn hie especially against gambling.
My son Tom, you know, is Just nt that
age when he thinks his father an ama
teur in slu, suh, and, according to him,
the river is a paradise fob pirates"
"Well, 1 don't think he Is fur wrong."
Interrupted Moreau. Idly shuttling the
cards. "Naturally, this is the great
est waterway in the world. Did yoh
ever think of the wealth that passes
down here from St. Louis to New
Orleans, the fortunes that are lost
and won?"
"Every one gambles on the Missis
sippi, suh. foh here the ladles my
compliments to them mnst tempo
rarily yield dominion. And of co'se,
as a thoroughpaced man of th world,
suh, and one who has lived an the
1 1
ilvir f ''i sver fifty yeiir.i. I iccnft.hc i
thai i -'Ii professional tauibVr.i u.r tin
liiiiLiitl'.ii; ItH. blcsj me, 1 don't tal; j
my sou Tom's view of :t'.et.i. T''.'' j
g.in;'.'..' f.h a living, yes. but 1 1 'ii ' i
tliey t'.o sc hoiiesily, a y h or 1 ;
are a g.iuihMng nation, suh. ;'i,h ev j
are young, red blooded and prosper j
oils, but our country Is incapaliie i
giving birth to a i.ian who deals oi: j
the bottom of "the pack, who i-i nfr.iin j
to meet fortune eye to eye. Yoh ugrce
with uie. snli V"
"As u fellow patriot, yes us a sane
man. no," replied the other, the ha
tlrlc gleam again smoldering in tlie
dead slag of his eyes. "Yoh have yet
to be picked by a brace of these river
vultures-they generally travel In pairs
but as a man of the world, of co's.'.
yoh would Instantly recognize tlietn."
"Of co'se. suh." heartily agreed the
other. "Aside from all else, yoh pro
fessional gambler may be remarked
foh his lavish display of diamonds."
"Yoh pardon, suh. but not always. I
calculate that as a man cf the world
yoh have heard of Cameo Kirby V
smiled Moreau. again paying atten
tion to his companion's glass.
"Kirby? That's on old and honored
name in riaquemlnc, suh." replied
Mr. Randall, opening his eotit and
fanning Inflamed cheeks with his huge
slouch hat. "Kirby was my neighbor,
suh. and I knew his folks well. I had
the honor to be of so-ne slight assist
ance when he went under (lurit)':
the panic years, Crops failed, banks
went to Kmnsh, but yoh remember,
I reckon. Well. suh. Mr. Klrby's
eon, Eugene, came home from school
to find his poll father dead and a
bankrupt everything swept away.
That was a hard honnvomiiK, suh
Very sad case. I have ofien wondered
what became of the boy. fob lie h:ni
all his father's pride and refused to
let me exert my privilege of an nM
neighbor and friend. That was twen
ty years ago. and since then I have
heard iu a roundabout way that he
had become wild, drifted In with bad
companions and taken to the river for
a livelihood, in fact, become a com
mon gambler. But of co'se 1 don't b"-
lieve It. for no Kirhy could ever !o
that, suh fall so low. Yet the name
Is uncommon. Have you ever met
this gentlemau of whom you spoke?"
"Not socially, suh." replied tlie other
dryly. "I calculate he Is no relative
of the folks you mentioned, foh L.s
reputation, suh. Is the worst on the
river; known from New Orleans to St.
Louis and bk again. Ho and his
side partner, suh a dam carpetbag
glng Y'r.iikce by the name of Ituuce
are Vi? most reckless characters on
the liver: It Is scum like them. sub.
who give our fair Mississippi her evil
name. Yoh speak of no man dealing
off the loUom of the pack. y
suh. I a sure yoh on my lionor they're
so ctwkf.' they have to sleep In a
roundhouse. 1 merely mentioned Kir
ov's name because of the fact that,
man of the world os you are. suh. you
would never pick him foh a profession
al gambler. Never wore u diamond In
his life. The cameo Is his favorite
stone, foh they say It once saved his
worthless life, and from It he pets his
name, suh. Rut tiialk we continue the
game? I m still live hundred y h
mtister, and we have foh hours to kill
befoh we make yoli landing."
Randall accepted the cards with tin
steady hands. "J assure you, suh. yoh
are betting against a foregone conciu
slon." he said, "foh there Is no stem
ming the turn iu the tide. J'll bet yon
live hundred oti this showdown, and
then we'll pull stakes, suh. all square,
foil further play would be sheer rob
bery. You can't beat tho Randall luck
when once ft has turned."
"I never believed In JuekV' replied
Moreau. "foh life has demonstrated to
me that there Is no such abstract
Foh instance. If n coin falls head ten
times out or ten It Is still nn even bet
foh heads or talis on the next toss
That Is the law. .suh, nud all the sn
porstifioii in the world cannot revoke
or change it."
"My dear suh," replied the 'planter,
waving nn impatient hand, "that Is all
nonsense, for I bold that our entire
existence is greatly controlled by lui'U
and not law. I believe In it Supreme
Itclng. suh. and 1 attend church regu
larly, but I do not believe, suh, that
our poh mundane affairs are regulat
ed by a celestial corporation, espertal
ly such affairs as card games. Y'oh
know yohself. colonel, that the best
playing hi the world can't stand against
a run of blind luck, and ns n man of
tho world I've seen moh fortunes lost
on high hands foh barmaids topped
by foh kings every tvip Just because
their holders hadn't sense enough to
realize that the tide lmd set lu ugalnsi
them. And 1 give yoh my word, suh,"
he finished, thumping the table, "that
when I fill a foh card Inside straight
the Randall luck Is sitting into the
game right with me, mid yoh simply
can't win. Oh, yoh may get one or
two little pots, but you'll finish dead
broke. Call it what yoh like luck or
the shuffling of tlie devil."
"Now. suh. you're bucking right
against my pet hobby," replied Mo
reau, leaning across the table and
growing as earnest us his companion.
"Of co'se I accept yoh word fob past
experiences, but It Is the old enso of
the coin. Though yoh may have turn
ed heads a hundred times In succes
sion, as 1 said, the chance of It being
tails la still an even bet. Yoh luck
may have changed, but I'm. willing to
lay ten thousand that 1 hold the he.sf
hands In two out of three. There's
a sporting offer, suh, that will test
yoh theory."
Randnl! blinked at his r-.lass. ..c;in
he was momentarily sobereM.
"No. sub." lie sold decidedly, pluck
ing nt his frilled' hlrt. "There a-e
nigh stakes, colonel, for, as wealih
rocs nowadays. I am not n very ile'.i
man, acd I cannot nfforl n Jeoptir
dlze tho welfare of my children for
the sake of proving my point. Again,
suh, I consider It would be taking uu
unfair udvautage of yoh" .
"Come. Yoh biutcmeuts den't agree,
Mr. Randall." laughed the other.
"What do yoh jeopardise, suh. if yoh
consider the edvantage entirely with
yohself? Ilowvvor." he finished, with
some coldness; "this Is but a game,
suh. and 1 had no Idea that yoh were
at all Imperiling yoh welfare"
"The Randalls, suh. never incur an
obligation which they cannot meet."
hotly Interrupted the oilier. Ihe drink
showing In Ids eyes. "Yoh pardon,
suh. if I have touched on personal
matters. It is not my custom, I as
sure yoh, to do' so with strangers"
"Now, now. Mr. Randall, suh." In
terrupted the other, patting the plant
er's arm. "Ynh pardon, suh. if 1 have
offended. I am an old soldier." twirl
ing tils mustaches, "and perhaps own
an exaggerated and touchy sense of
honor. When yoh mentioned Imperil
ing yoh welfare It seemed as If we
were no longer Indulging In a gentle
men's game merely foh the sake of
passing the time. I have n very deli
cate sense of honor, suh. and perhaps
1 am too ready to back my opinions
with sums which I consider mere tri
fles. 1 hope this difference of opinion
will not impair our but newly formed
friendship. Mr. Randall."
"I was too hasty, colonel." replied
tho other, "foh I reckon my pride Is as
touchy as yoh own. Come, fill up yoh
glass, suh. Yoh're a good fellow, and
I'm a good fellow. We're both good
fellows, suh. A Randall never yet re
fused to back his opinion, and ten
thousand is as much a picayune nfTalr
to me ns to yoh. If yoh persist In go
ing broke. I'll take yoh bet. suh. The
lieii two out of three. My cards, I
reckon. There's my money, suh."
And he thumped a buckskin bag on
the table. ,
"Covered, sub." replied Moreau. care
lessly peeling off tell Sl.ptit) bills.
Ry now ihe unconcern which Mr.
Randall displayed was entirely au
thentic, for his Incessant attention to
Ids glass had lent him a bibulous cour
age and defiance of the future, in
which lurked no wholesome leaven of
caution. Moreover, Ills pride had been
delicately touched to the quick, and
rather than appear a "piker" before
this magnificent acquaintance he
would readily have hazarded his en
tire estate. Pride of family was his
fetich, and a -Randall, be considered,
was an Admirable Cricliion. who could
he beaten at nothing. All I his wns
quite aside from his desire to upnold
Ids self bestowed reputation of man of
the world and ihe liumuiaiii,' convic
tion that bis lin k had turned, iiu ;-e
wns no doubt that If he had not. s-.ii
his sugar crop for such an une-rct-sC'.f
high figure he would n.-.l l:.:va
embarked on his t 'b-ei ucat r;nf.e
carouse, nor. nlthr.irh i a Jovial na
ture, so quickly formed a aicdshlp
With the magnificent and highly esti
mable Colonel Moreau, owner of the
very delicntn sense of honor. Although
In that peiii (1, n do nde or so before
the war which sev.M'tl Ihe country,
but to ultimately i: nit I; the Mere firm,
ly together, the punch bowl wll m
Institution la efery son, hern lion -cl-hold.
Mr. Randall was not what Is
termed a drinking man. md It was
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CAUKO lilKDY THK WOllKT ONE ON TUB
hiyKU."
solely on his yearly business trips to
the Crescent City that be permitted
himself any latitude In that direction.
Meanwhile Mr. Randall bad shuf
fled, dealt and lost the first showdown.
The next, however, he won, only to
loss. the, third and JasJL
(To be ctmtfnucd)
Notice to Pay Up.
To the Ladies and Gentlemen: I
have purchased a business in Omaha an
and expect soon to move to that city
to make my future home, and as there
is considerable money outstanding on
my books I would like to get all these
mutters BrtaiRhtcncd up before I
go away, I shall leave about July 4,
and at that time will place all my busi
ness in the hands of an attorney,
who will take charge of the remaining
stock here and also attend to my col
lections in this vicinity. If thoso who
know they arc indebted to mo will
kindly call and settle on or before
that date it will bo greatly appre
ciated. M. Fangcr
.' . w
BEAUTIFYING
Clraii.inK is i-oc i.v tht n t liiM can i!o
it provided the
CHI-NAMEL PROCESS
is used.
Wc arc willing to demonstrate this pro
cess to you at any time, and show you why
this process is the crsicst and most satis
factory one known. You can cover any
painted work, no nutter whut color, or how
dark and rough.
WEYRICH & HADRABA
&j Sole Agents. Vk
Dasii'jAomuiturai. Kara
larclay's
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Center oi Block Between 4th and 5th Sts. j
Let Me Tell You Something
If you want to be properly dressed,
you should have your clothes made to
order. You can't get up-to-date style in
ready-inados, for they tire made six
months before the season opens,
' BLUE SERGE SUITS
The only place
can get a good blue
Cheviot or Scoteji tweed a'
;ire actually worth fro ; '
$20
Cleaning afld Repairing
ALL WORK
James
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AUGTI01T
Only a few days more and the
days of cheap prices in this
city will come to an end, so
if you want anythfng in sum
mer or winter goods go to the
Auction Sale Now
Y
m. ranger s
THE HOME
Restaurant
THE PLACE
TO EAT
Everything tieal and
chan and a good place to
go for your SUNDAY
DINNER. Board by
the vick. Lunch counter
in connection.
t
Open All Night
in the cit where you
serge, i ir v worsted,
that
nly
LTY
GUARANTEED
Socher
Tailcr.
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uept. otore f
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