BETRAYAL

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10133, 16 May 1896, Page 3 (Supplement)

BETRAYAL

BY B, L. FABJKON, , Author of "No. 119, Great Porter Square," " Grit,' "The March of Fate," "For the ' Defence," "Aaron the Jew," etc [All Bights Reserved.] PART 111.

CHAPTER XXX.-f/Co!t(mueJ.)

Then 'e let me into the secret. Theto wos a young feller 'im and Morgan wos very intimate with; 'e 'ad money of 'is own, and 'ad won more at the races, where the three of 'em went together. They'd won a little off 'im at cards, bub they 'ad a notion 'e was gettin' suspicious of 'em, though they wosn't sure. Per'aps 'e wos, per'aps 'e wosn'r. Their scheme was to introduce a fourth gentleman who'd jine tho game.

"You're the iourth gentleman," Bed Maxwell.

" Me!" I cried. " Why, I've only gob to jpen my mouth to show wot I am."

Thoy 'ad considered that. I wos a common ignorant man, with a good 'eart— wos to be sure to 'ave a good 'eart—as'd made a fortune on the goldfields. I wos to lose money as well as the pigeon, and that'd make 'im less suspicious. The difference atween mo and 'im wos that 'e paid in good money and I paid in flash notes. " One night," sed Maxwell, " arteryer've lost double as much as 'im yer'll set down with me while 'e's in the room, and in a hour or two yer'll win back doublo as much as yer'vo lost. That '11 egg 'im on, and 'e'U try to do the same with me or you— don't matter which— then we'll clean 'im out. We'll 'ave every shillin' he's got. We play for ready money— no infernal cheques—and when we've done with 'im 'e can go to the devil. See?" I did see. It wos n artful plot, and like enough to turn out jest as 'o calkylated. " Wot am I to gain by it ?" I arst. "A reg'lar swell rig-out," 'e answered, " fine togs, a gold watch and chain, and a ring, and two pounds a week to keep yerself. When the jobs finished yer'll git afourth of the winnin's." I didn't throw away the chance— me I Fine togs, a gold watch and chain, a ring, and two pounds a week—why, it wos a reg'lar slice o' luck, with me starving, and nob knowing where to git my next meal from! " I'll jine yer," sed I. " 'Ere's ray 'and on it. Who's the pigeon " D'yer remember that friend of our'n ns Morgan played billiards with at the Jolly Ploughboy !" arse Maxwell. "Send I may live !" I cried. "If that's 'im we'ro done 1 'E'U know me agin as sure as guns." " I'll eat my 'ead if !e does," said Maxwell. " You 'ad a mustareh and a pair o' whiskers, and you've gob 'em now. Shave 'em off, and slip into yer new togs, and yer own mother wouldn't know yer." He wos right. Yer wouldn't believe the iiffere.ice it made in me. When I looked in the glass I thought I wos someone else. Louis never suspected, and Maxwell sed I played my part tip top. 'E acted square as fur as 'is fust) promises went. The watch and chain was only silver gilt, and the ring was Abyssinian gold and sham stones, but the togs were all right, and so wos the two quid a week. I told 'im if 'e did me in the end when the job was finished, I'd make it warm for 'im. I've come across some bad 'mis in my time, but I never come across sech a scoundrel as that Maxwell. 'E'd 'ave skinned 'is own mother if 'e could 'ave made anythink out of it and if 'e could 'ave put the skinnin' on a pal. For that's where 'e beat us—'e knew 'ow to make 'isself safe if we wos blown on. Louis wos mad on 'orseracin', and so wos all of us, for the matter of that, but 'e took the cake. We went all over the country, whenever there wos any sport on, and yer may bet yer life we never give our own names nowhere. I think that Loui3 stuck to us because 'e wos mad to git back tho money 'e'd lost to Maxwell and Morgan ; 'e wos regularly pricked, and sometimes went for Maxwell like a mad bull. Bub Maxwell kep' cool ; 'e only lost 'isself once, and you'll ear of it presently. •E couldn't keep wot 'e won; 'e dashed ib down on the racecourse, and wos more orfen stone broke than not. 'E wos alluß goin' to win a pot on the next race, and it never came off— never once. 'E knowed sech a lot, yer see. That's wot's the matter with most of us. W're so clever. There wos 'ardly anight as we didn't end up with a gamble. Louis kep' on droppin' 'is money, and the more 'e dropped the closer 'e stuck tc us. I dropped twice as much as 'e did, but then it made no difference to me, one way or the other. When 'im and me wos pardners agin Maxwell and Morgan, we lost four times out of five. It wos alius settled before' and if 'e wos to win or lose, and the cards WO3 dealt accordin'. If they'd been dealt fair 'e'd 'ave lost, but not as much. 'E reckoned 'isgelf the best player in the crowd, and it 'appened ! e wos the wust. " A barn-door fowl wosn't in it with 'im for crowin'.

"Never say die," I Bed, when we wos reckonin' up our losses. " Luck must turn. Maxwell don't play a bit better nor you or me. I'll git all my money back, and a bib over afore I've done with 'im." It turned out that way 'cause it wos part of tho plot. We'd jest come to Liverpool, and it was bitter weather. It wos snowin' all day and freezin' all night, and the racing 'ad to be postponed. " We'll finish the job 'ere," sed Maxwell. So as to keep ourselves to ourselves a 'ouse 'ad been taken near the docks ; it wos only 'arf fu aished, but that didn't matter. Morgan took it for a month on trial, and give the name o' Mollison. The agent arat for a reference, and ono was sent 'im from London, I don't know by who. We took possession without anybody noticiu' us. There wos a room on the fust flore pritty well stocked with chairs, tables, sideboard, lamps, lookin'- glass over the mantelpiece, and all that. We smuggled in grog, and wine, and cigars, and when we built up a big fire the room looked cosy and comfortable. We used to go there after dinner, and smoke, and drink, and play. One night I told Louis that I meant to have a dash at Maxwell single-'anded. " We ain't lucky as pardners," I sed, "I'm goin' to tackle 'im alone." By that time Louis 'ad dropped a matter of three thousand quid, accordin 1 to 'is reckonin', and 'e wos mad to git it back. I never found out where the money went to; Maxwell wos always owearin' 'e 'adn'b a sbillin'. I'll do 'im the justice to say that 'e threw it away right and left at the races, but 'e never showed us any account of 'ow 'e got rid of it. " Yer'll give mo ray revenge, yer'll give me my revengo !" That wos always Louis' cry when 'e settled up. " Give yer yer revenge 1" eed Maxwell. "In course we will. We dont want yer And per'aps the next time Louis ad win two or three pound. That wos the way 'e wos led on. Maxwell knew 'ow to play 'is Well, Maxwell took up my challenge to play single-'anded, and we set down to our match. Louis and Morgan wos playin' the same game-piquet it was-in another part of the room, but 'earin' the big talk atween me and Maxwell they left off and come to

our table. . • , ~.. "Dyer mind my lookin'over yer'and ?' B6d Louis to me. " Nob a bit," I answered, " I'm winnin', and I ain't aooporstitioua." In course I palmed the cards, but it d ave took a cleverer chap nor Louis to ketob me. I ought to be rollin' in money. • " Rubicon'd agin I" cried Maxwell with a oath, dashin' 'is fist on the table. " Keep yer 'air on," I sed with a larf as I picked up the card. "I'll give yer a chance. Wot d'ye? say to . two-pound points?" . "bono with you," aed Maxwell, wery eager. " 'Ow much 'ave yer won J" arsb Louis. "Count it up for me," sed I, givtn' 'i.m the paper where the soore wos marked down. "It's over a thousand," 'o cried with blazin' eyes. . _ ~.,,, "It's my night," I sed. i ,, Didn'bltßll yer? I've gob 'im on toast." , "'Oiler when yer. out o' the wood," growled Maxwell. -■> We went on playin', and I kept on winnin'. Over two thousand woe now the figger. Louis could 'ardly keep still. There wos no mistake about 'Is bein' in dead earnest, but as for uS-well, we wos : all larGn 1 in our sleeves.at lb didn't turn .out a larfiu - " matter Id the end,

Ib wos gittin 1 late, and I orfered to. leave off. ....-.„ /

.ij| Wob d'yer mean J" cried Maxwell. ? ' Do I ever orfer to leave off when I'm winnin'? Leb'e 'ave six games ab five-pound points. It'll take a deuced sight more nor bhab to break me.'!

" Would yer?" l'sed, lookin' up ab Louis. "Lob me take yer placo,"sed 'a; "I'll play 'imior any points 'e likes." "No," 1 answered, "I'll see ib oubwith *im."

So we resoomed the game, and at the end I'd won a matter of five thousand pound. Didn't I wish ib was real instead o' gammon? "Now I'm on welwet," aed I, grinnin' and rabbin' my 'ands. " Fortune o' war," sed Maxwell, takin' out a pocket-book stuffed with flash notes, " Who cares! My turn yesterday, your'n to-day." " Plenty more where that comes from, I 'ope," sed I, - "Don't you be afroed," sed Maxwell, "if yer won ten times as much off me yer'd gib every farthin' of ib." " That's a comfort," sad I, countin' out the money as 'e passed ib over to me. The wonder wos that Louis took it all in, but I never did see seoh a migsture, as 'e wos. One minute 'e could be as ouniiin' as a fox, and the next as soft as butter. There was 80mebhink atwixb 'im and Maxwell I never gob to the bottom of, a sorb 6' relationship through a sister as wos dead, and they talked sometimes of someone abroad, and sed if they got 'old of 'im thoy'd make ib warm for 'iin. Bub all that wos nothing tome.

If Louis 'ad 'ad a chanco of 'ondlin' the flash 'notes as I counted 'em out it 'd been all up the orchard With us, but we took care that 'o never at any time 'ad one in 'is fingers. 'E wos short-sighted, and at a little distance the flimseys looked all right. The notes of some o' the country banks, yer know, ain't as spick and span as Bank of England paper, but there's a lot o' that sort knockin' about in tho ring, and the bookeys pay 'em oub free to them as 'ill take 'em. The biggest part of the wonder wos that Louis should 'ave believed we oarried sech large sum o' money about us. 'E wos jest the sort o' chap that's took in with tho confidence trick, and you read of 'em pritty often in the papers. There's more o' that goin' on nor people think of. For one case as comes afore the beak there's twenty that's never heard of. It ain't a bad payin' trade, 1 can tell yer. As I pocketed the notes Maxwell arst if I'd play 'im another match to-morrer. "No, no," cried Louis, all of a tremble ; " it's my turn now. Yer've got to give me my revenge!" The fish wos 'ooked.

" That's only fair," sed I. " You 'ave a shy at'im, Louis" "I will— will!" 'o cried. "If Vs game." " Game!" sed Maxwell. " We've seed a lot of each other, and when did yer soe me show tho white feather ? But I'm too tired now to go on playin. 'I want to gib to bed." "To-morrer night, then," sed Louis. " It shall be made or break." "All right," sed Maxwell. " We'll begin at nine." " Agreed. At nine o'clock." So it wos settled, and wot we'd been workin' for so long wos comin' off at last.

[To be continued on Wednesday next.]