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from his copy of the morning paper. “If you win a scholarship,” he
said, “you will have saved me a thousand dollars a year. If
you come out on top, two thousand dollars.”
    “Yes, Papa, and
I have plans for that.”
    “Oh, do you,
young lady. And may I inquire what you have in mind?”
    “If I win a
scholarship, I want you to invest the money in Baron Group stock until I’m
twenty-one, and if I’m first I want you to do the same for Miss Tredgold.”
    “Good gracious,
no,” said Miss Tredgold, stretching to her full height, “that would be most
improper. I do apologize, Mr. Rosnovski, for Florentyna’s impudence.”
    “It’s not
impudence, Papa. If I finish top, half the credit must go to Miss Tredgold.-
    “If not more,”
said Abel, “and I’ll agree to your demands. But on one condition.” He folded
his paper carefully.
    “What’s that?”
said Florentyna.
    “How much do you
have in your savings account, young lady?”
    “Three hundred
and twelve dollars,” came the immediate reply.
    “Very well, if
you fail to finish in the first four you must sacrifice the three hundred and
twelve dollars to help me pay the tuition you haven’t saved.”
    Florentyna
hesitated. Abel waited and Miss Tredgold did not comment.
    “I agree,” said
Florentyna at last.
    “I have never
bet in my life,” said Miss Tredgold, “and I can only hope my dear father does
not live to learn of this.”
    “It should not
concern you, Miss Tredgold.”
    “It certainly
does, Mr. Rosnovski. If the child is willing to gamble her only three hundred
and twelve dollars on the strength of what I have managed to do for her, then I
must repay in kind and also offer three hundred and twelve dollars towards her
education if she fails to win a scholarship.”
    “Bravo,” said
Florentyna, and threw her arms around her governess.
    “‘A fool and his
money are soon parted,” ‘ declared Miss Tredgold.
    “Agreed,” said
Abel, “for I have lost.”
    “What do you
mean, Papa?” asked Florentyna. Abel turned over the newspaper to reveal a small
headline that read: “The Chicago Baron’s Daughter Wins Top Scholarship.”
    “Mr. Rosnovski,
you knew all the time.”
    “True, Miss
Tredgold, but it is you who have turned out to be the better poker player.”
    Florentyna was overjoyed
and spent the last few days of her life at Middle School as the class heroine.
Even Edward Winchester congratulated her.
    “Let’s go and
have a drink to celebrate,” he suggested.
    “What?” said Florentyna. “I’ve never had a drink before.”
    “No time like
the present,” said Edward, and led her to a small classroom in the boys’ end of
the school. Once they were inside, he locked the door.
    “Don’t want to
get caught,” he explained. Florentyna stood in admiring disbelief as Edward
lifted the lid of his desk and took out a bottle of beer, which he pried open
with a nickel. He poured the flat brown liquid into two dirty glasses, also
extracted from the desk, and passed one over to Florentyna.
    “Bottoms up,”
said Edward.
    “What does that
mean?” asked Florentyna.
    “Just drink the
stuff,” he said, but Florentyna watched him take a gulp before she plucked up
the courage to try a sip. Edward rummaged around in his jacket pocket and took
out a crumpled package of Lucky Strikes.
    Florentyna
couldn’t believe her eyes. The nearest she had been to a cigarette was the
advertisement she had heard on the radio which said:
    “Lucky Strike
means fine tobacco. Yes, Lucky Strike means fine tobacco,” a theme that had
driven Miss Tredgold mad. Without speaking, Edward removed one of the cigarettes
from the packet, placed it between his lips, lit it and started puffing away.
He blew some smoke jauntily into the rmddle of the room. Florentyna was
mesmerized as he extracted a second cigarette and placed it between her lips.
She did not dare to move as he struck another match and held the flame to the
end of the cigarette. She stood quite