ed out:

"Why have YOU attached yourselves to the party? We are not going to
take you with us every time. Go home at once." Then, when the servants
had pulled hasty bows and departed, she added to me: "You are all the
escort I need."

At the Casino the Grandmother seemed to be expected, for no time was
lost in procuring her former place beside the croupier. It is my
opinion that though croupiers seem such ordinary, humdrum
officials--men who care nothing whether the bank wins or loses--they
are, in reality, anything but indifferent to the bank's losing, and are
given instructions to attract players, and to keep a watch over the
bank's interests; as also, that for such services, these officials are
awarded prizes and premiums. At all events, the croupiers of
Roulettenberg seemed to look upon the Grandmother as their lawful
prey--whereafter there befell what our party had foretold.

It happened thus:

As soon as ever we arrived the Grandmother ordered me to stake twelve
ten-gulden pieces in succession upon zero. Once, twice, and thrice I
did so, yet zero never turned up.

"Stake again," said the old lady with an impatient nudge of my elbow,
and I obeyed.

"How many times have we lost?" she inquired--actually grinding her
teeth in her excitement.

"We have lost 144 ten-gulden pieces," I replied. "I tell you, Madame,
that zero may not turn up until nightfall."

"Never mind," she interrupted. "Keep on staking upon zero, and also
stake a thousand gulden upon rouge. Here is a banknote with which to do
so."

The red turned up, but zero missed again, and we only got our thousand
gulden back.

"But you see, you see," whispered the old lady. "We have now recovered
almost all that we staked. Try zero again. Let us do so another ten
times, and then leave off."

By the fifth round, however, the Grandmother was weary of the scheme.

"To the devil with that zero!" she exclaimed. "Stake four thousand
gulden upon the red."

"But, Madame, that will be so much to venture!" I remonstrated.
"Suppose the red should not turn up?" The Grandmother almost struck me
in her excitement. Her agitation was rapidly making her quarrelsome.
Consequently, there was nothing for it but to stake the whole four
thousand gulden as she had directed.

The wheel revolved while the Grandmother sat as bolt upright, and with
as proud and quiet a mien, as though she had not the least doubt of
winning.

"Zero!" cried the croupier.

At first the