"Experiment?" He looked honestly surprised, which was a fine piece of
acting. "We're just checking to see if the table's wired, that's all. If
it is, your client may be in the clear; maybe we can hang it on the
croupier."

"And get a conspiracy charge on my client, too, eh? Well, if you don't
mind, I'd like to watch that table check myself. You know how it is."

Thursby hesitated, then he scowled. "Oh, all right. Come on in. But stay
out of the way."

I grinned. "Sure. All I want to do is protect my client's interests."

Thursby just grunted and opened the door wider to let me in. He was a
shrewd lawyer, a good D.A., and basically honest, even if he did have a
tendency to bend under pressure from higher up.

* * * * *

They were checking the table, all right. They had three specialists
going over it with everything from fine tooth combs to Geiger counters.
They found nothing. No magnets, no wires, no mechanical gimmicks.
Nothing.

It took them an hour to take that table apart, check it, and put it back
together again. When it was all over, Thursby glanced at me, then said:
"O.K., boys; that does it. Let's go."

The men looked at him oddly, and I knew why.

"Aren't you going to test my client's gadget?" I asked innocently.

Thursby looked angrily baffled for a moment, then he clamped his lips
grimly. "As long as we're here, I guess we might as well."

I knew perfectly well it was what he had intended to do all along.

"One of you guys spin that wheel," he said to the technicians. One of
them gave the wheel a spin and dropped the ball. It clattered on its
merry way and dropped into a slot. Forty-two.

Thursby took the gadget out of his pocket. It was still set at Thirteen.

The men who had surrounded Howley on the night of his arrest had been
keeping their eyes open, and they had seen how Howley had handled the
thing. Well--_almost_ how. Thursby had the lens opening pointed at the
wheel, but his thumb and fingers weren't touching the silver plates
properly.

"Spin it again," he said.

Everyone's eyes were on the ball as it whirled, so I had time to get my
own copy of Howley's gadget out and set it at Thirteen. I hoped the
thing would work for me. I concentrated on Thirteen, making sure my
thumb and fingers were placed right.

Evidently they were. The ball fell into Thirteen, Black, Odd, and Low.

A huge grin spread over Thursby's face, but he was man enough not to
turn