uld therefore consume a
considerable length of time.

The six little girls began to perform their duties with automaton-like
regularity, but the audience did not lose patience for an instant. It
is true, however, that as the value of the prizes increased with each
drawing, the excitement increased proportionately, and no one thought
of leaving his seat, not even those persons whose tickets had been
already drawn, and who had consequently nothing more to expect.

This went on for about an hour without producing any incident of
particular interest, though people noticed that number 9672 had not
been drawn, which would have taken away all chance of its winning the
capital prize.

"That is a good omen for Sandgoist!" remarked one of the professor's
neighbors.

"It would certainly be an extraordinary thing if a man like that
should meet with such a piece of good luck, even though he has the
famous ticket," remarked another.

"A famous ticket, indeed!" replied Sylvius Hogg; "but don't ask me
why, for I can't possibly tell you."

Then began the drawing of the second series of prizes, nine in number.
This promised to be very interesting--the ninety-first prize being one
of a thousand marks; the ninety-second, one of two thousand marks,
and so on, up to the ninety-ninth, which was one of nine thousand. The
third class, the reader must recollect, consisted of the capital prize
only.

Number 72,521 won a prize of five thousand marks. This ticket belonged
to a worthy seaman of Christiania, who was loudly cheered and who
received with great dignity the congratulations lavished upon him.

Another number, 823,752, won a prize of six thousand marks, and how
great was Sylvius Hogg's delight when he learned from Joel that it
belonged to the charming Siegfrid of Bamble.

An incident that caused no little excitement followed. When the
ninety-seventh prize was drawn, the one consisting of seven thousand
marks, the audience feared for a moment that Sandgoist was the winner
of it. It was won, however, by ticket number 9627, which was within
only forty-five points of Ole Kamp's number.

The two drawings that followed were numbers very widely removed from
each other: 775 and 76,287.

The second series was now concluded, and the great prize of one
hundred thousand marks alone remained to be drawn.

The excitement of the assemblage at that moment beggars all
description.

At first there was a long murmur that extended from the l