Rosemary | Page 5

of our securities. Then she won, and
went half mad with the joy and excitement, but the joy didn't last long.
She lost all, again--literally, our all. We were penniless. There was
nothing left to pay the hotel bill. I went out, and found a Mont de Pieté,
just beyond the limits of the Principality; they aren't allowed inside. I
pawned all our jewellery, and as we had a great many valuable things, I

got several thousand francs. I thought the money would last us until I
could find something to do. But, without telling me what she meant to
do, mother took it all to the Casino--and--it followed the rest.
"She was so horrified at what she had done, when it was too late, that
she wished to kill herself. It was a terrible time for me, but I was so
sorry--so sorry for her."
As the girl said this, she looked full into the young man's eyes, with her
great, appealing ones. He thought that she must have a wonderfully
sweet nature, to have forgiven that horrible, fat old woman, after being
subjected to so much undeserved suffering. It was a thousand pities, he
said to himself, that a really good sort of girl should be forced to live
her life beside a creature of that type, and under such an influence. He
had not quite believed in the poor child, at first, perhaps, and because
he did believe in her now, he felt poignant remorse for his past
injustice.
"What did you do, then?" he asked, honestly absorbed in the story, for
he was a generous and warm hearted fellow, who found most of his
pleasure, in these latter days, in the help he could give others, to make
them happier than he was himself.
"I comforted her as well as I could, but I didn't know what would
become of us. Then a lady, who had a room next to mine in the hotel,
heard me crying, and was very kind."
"I should think she would have been," interrupted the young man.
"She told me that, as my mother had lost everything, she had better go
to the Direction of the Casino, and get what they call a viatique--money
to go away with. So she did ask, though it was a great ordeal to make
up her mind to do it; and they gave my mother a thousand francs. Then,
you know, she had no right to play in the Rooms again; she was
supposed to pay her hotel bill, and leave Monte Carlo. But she gave
half the money to a woman she had met in the Rooms, and asked her to
put it on six numbers she had dreamed about; she was sure that this
time she would win."

"And did she?"
"No. The money was lost. We hadn't enough left to settle our account at
the hotel, or to get away from the place, even if there were anywhere to
go--when one has no pennies. So my mother begged me to slip into the
Rooms, with what was left, and try to get something back. I had been
trying when you saw me, with our last louis. Now you know why it
seemed so good to see a man I knew, a face I could trust. Now you
know why I, who had had such misfortunes, was glad at least to bring
you luck."
"It's my turn to bring you some, I think," began the man she could trust;
but she stopped him by putting up her plump little white hand.
"If you mean with money, no," she said, with soft decision that was
pretty and sad to hear. "If you mean with advice, yes. If you could only
get me something to do! You see, they will be turning us out of our
hotel to-morrow. They've let us keep our rooms on, up to now, but for
two days they've not given us anything to eat. Of course, it can't go on
like this. If it hadn't been for you, I think when I went back to tell my
mother that the last louis of the viatique was gone, we would have
killed ourselves."
"Great Heaven, you must promise me not to do that," the young man
implored.
"I will promise, now, for you have saved me by--caring a little. You do
care, really, don't you?"
"I wouldn't have blood in my veins, if I didn't. But--about something
for you to do--I must think."
"Are you staying here for some time?" asked the girl.
"I haven't made up my mind."
"I asked because I--I suppose you don't need a secretary, do you? I can
write such a good English hand; and I know French and Italian as well

as I do German, and your own