traight, all he had to do was to examine them.
There they lay, gents, honestly and openly on the table before the
one-eyed man, his bony hand hovering over them caressingly.

Gents examined them freely. Nearly every player who put money
down--secure in that egotistical valuation of one's own shrewdness which
is the sure-thing-man's bank and goldmine and mint--rolled the dice,
weighed them, eyed them sharply. Then they bet against the one-eyed
man--and lost.

That is, they lost if he wanted them to lose. There were victims who
looked promising for a fat sacrifice who had to be tolled and primed and
led on gently up to the block. At the right time the one-eyed man
trimmed them, and he trimmed them down to the short bones.

His little boost for art finished--for the living pictures were art in
which he had a proprietary interest, and he could afford to talk for it
once in a while--the one-eyed man cast his glance over his table and saw
the small bets. By some singular fortune all of the bettors won. They
pocketed their winnings with grins as they pushed out among the
gathering crowd.

Men began to pack thickly around the gambler's crescent table, craning
over shoulders to see what was going on. He was making a great Wild-West
show of money, with a large revolver lying beside it at his elbow.
Seeing that the young man who had carried June Reed off to the dance so
intrepidly had made his way forward and was betting on the game, Dr.
Slavens pushed up to the table and stood near.

The young fellow did not bear himself with the air of a capper, but
rather with that of one who had licked a little poison and was drunk on
the taste. He had won two small bets, and he was out for more.

There were no chips, no counters except cash. Of that the young man
appeared to have plenty. He held a cheerful little wad of it in his
hand, so that no time might be lost in taking advantage of the great
opportunity to beat a man at his own game.

The display of so much money on both sides held the crowd in silent
charm. The young man was the only player, although the one-eyed man
urged others to come on and share the fortunes of his sweating patron,
whose face was afire with the excitement of easy money, and whose reason
had evaporated under the heat.

"At every roll of the dice my young friend adds to his pile," said the
gambler. "He's got a head, gents, and he knows how to use it. Look at
'im, gents, gittin' richer at every roll of the d