barker. Of gambling devices, in the open of the street,
there was no end. My conductors appeared to have the passion, for our
course led from one method of hazard to another--roulette, chuck-a-luck
where the patrons cast dice for prizes of money and valuables arrayed upon
numbered squares of an oilcloth covered board, keno where numbered balls
were decanted one at a time from a bottle-shaped leather receptacle
called, I learned, the "goose," and the players kept tab by filling in
little cards as in domestic lotto; and finally we stopped at the simplest
apparatus of all.

"The spiel game for me, gentlemen," said the Colonel. "Here it is. Yes,
suh, there's nothing like monte, where any man is privileged to match his
eyes against fingers. Nobody but a blind man can lose at monte, by
George!"

"And this spieler's on the level," Bill pronounced, sotto voce. "I vote we
hook him for a gudgeon, and get the price of a meal. Our friend will join
us in the turn. He can see for himself that he can't lose. He's got sharp
eyes."

The bystanders here were stationed before a man sitting at a low tripod
table; and all that he had was the small table--a plain cheap table with
folding legs--and three playing cards. Business was a trifle slack. I
thought that his voice crisped aggressively as we elbowed through, while
he sat idly skimming the three cards over the table, with a flick of his
hand.

"Two jacks, and the ace, gentlemen. There they are. I have faced them up.
Now I gather them slowly--you can't miss them. Observe closely. The jack
on top, between thumb and forefinger. The ace next--ace in the middle. The
other jack bottommost." He turned his hand, with the three cards in a
tier, so that all might see. "The ace is the winning card. You are to
locate the ace. Observe closely again. It's my hand against your eyes. I
am going to throw. Who will spot the ace? Watch, everybody. Ready! Go!"
The backs of the cards were up. With a swift movement he released the
three, spreading them in a neat row, face down, upon the table. He
carelessly shifted them hither and thither--and his fingers were
marvelously nimble, lightly touching. "Twenty dollars against your twenty
that you can't pick out the ace, first try. I'll let the cards lie. I
shan't disturb them. There they are. If you've watched the ace fall, you
win. If you haven't, you lose unless you guess right."

"Just do that trick again, will you, for the benefit of my friend here?"
b