uick!" cried the girl. "Between '7' and '8,' Bill.
Between..."

As the money went on--

"_No va mas_," cried the croupier in charge.

Two pairs of eyes peered at the revolving wheel. They did not notice
that the Dutchman, plunging at the last moment upon 'MANQUE,' had
touched their counter with his cuff and moved it to '9.'

The ball lost its momentum, poppled across the ridges, and leaped to
rest.

"_Nueve._"

Two faces fell. I wondered if a new frock had vanished into air....

With the edge of his rake a croupier was tapping their counter and
looking round for the claimant.

For a second the Jew peered about him. Then he pointed to himself and
stretched out his hand.

I called to the croupier in French.

"No. It belongs to Monsieur and Madame. I saw what happened. That
gentleman moved it with his cuff."

"_Merci, Monsieur._"

With a sickly leer the pretender rallied the croupier, confidentially
assured the dainty Englishwoman that he did not care, and, laughing a
little too heartily, waved the thirty-five pounds towards their
bewildered owners.

"B-but it isn't mine," stammered the boy.

"Yes," I said, smiling. "Your counter was moved. I saw the whole
thing." I hesitated. Then, "If you'll take an old hand's advice,
you'll stop now. A thing like that's invariably the end of one's luck."

I was not 'an old hand,' and I had no authority for my dictum. My
interference was unpardonable. When the two stopped to thank me, as
they passed from the room, I felt like a criminal. Still, they looked
very charming; and, after all, a frock on the back is worth a score at
the dressmaker's.

"I am going," said Berry, "to suspend my courtship and smoke a
cigarette. Possibly I'm going too strong. If I give the lady a rest,
she may think more of me."

"I suppose," said Daphne, "you're bent on losing it all."

Her husband frowned.

"Fortune favours the bold," he said shortly. "You see, she's just
proving me. If I were to falter, she'd turn me down."

It was impossible not to admire such confidence.

I bade my sister take heart.

"Much," I concluded, "may be done with forty pounds."

"Fifty," corrected Berry. "And now let's change the subject. How
d'you pronounce Lwow? Or would you rather tell me a fairy tale?"

I shook my head.

"My power," I said, "of concentration is limited."

"Then I must," said Berry. "It's fatal to brood over your fortune."
He sat back in his chair and let t