d he, gambling with such a savage
thirst for gain as the most insatiable gambler never felt, had not one
selfish thought!

On the contrary, the other three--knaves and gamesters by their
trade--while intent upon their game, were yet as cool and quiet as if
every virtue had been centered in their breasts. Sometimes one would
look up to smile to another, or to snuff the feeble candle, or to
glance at the lightning as it shot through the open window and
fluttering curtain, or to listen to some louder peal of thunder than
the rest, with a kind of momentary impatience, as if it put him out;
but there they sat, with a calm indifference to everything but their
cards, perfect philosophers in appearance, and with no greater show of
passion or excitement than if they had been made of stone.

The storm had raged for full three hours; the lightning had grown
fainter and less frequent; the thunder, from seeming to roll and break
above their heads, had gradually died away into a deep hoarse distance;
and still the game went on, and still the anxious child was quite
forgotten.

CHAPTER 30

At length the play came to an end, and Mr Isaac List rose the only
winner. Mat and the landlord bore their losses with professional
fortitude. Isaac pocketed his gains with the air of a man who had
quite made up his mind to win, all along, and was neither surprised nor
pleased.

Nell's little purse was exhausted; but although it lay empty by his
side, and the other players had now risen from the table, the old man
sat poring over the cards, dealing them as they had been dealt before,
and turning up the different hands to see what each man would have held
if they had still been playing. He was quite absorbed in this
occupation, when the child drew near and laid her hand upon his
shoulder, telling him it was near midnight.

'See the curse of poverty, Nell,' he said, pointing to the packs he had
spread out upon the table. 'If I could have gone on a little longer,
only a little longer, the luck would have turned on my side. Yes, it's
as plain as the marks upon the cards. See here--and there--and here
again.'

'Put them away,' urged the child. 'Try to forget them.'

'Try to forget them!' he rejoined, raising his haggard face to hers,
and regarding her with an incredulous stare. 'To forget them! How are
we ever to grow rich if I forget them?'

The child could only shake her head.

'No, no, Nell,' said the old man, patting her