The evening world., 1913-06-28


was no money on the table, nothing but
piles Of chips Of various denominations.
Leaning forward. almost oblivious to
the rest. was Percival DdI-ong. q tall.
1.-the, handsome young man. whose boy
, ish face III comported with the marks
OF dissipation clearly outlined on II.
Curse the luck!' he exclaimed, as
III" appeared again.
A banker staksd . pile Of chips on
the az" to come UP third time. A
murmur OF applause at his nerve ran
as one who thought. Seventeen has
| come out twice-the odds against It's
| coming again are too great, even
| though the winnings would ne fabul-
ous for q good stake" He placed his
next bet on another number.
'tie's playing Lord Rossiyn's sys.
TEN. tonight" whispered my friend.
The wheel spun. the bail rolled. and
the croupier called again. Seventeen.
black" A tremor OF excitement ran
through the crowd. II was almost un-
prec edented.
De Long. with . stined oath. leaned
back and scanned the faces about the
table.
And ~ has precisely the same
chance Of turning up In the next spin
as II II had not already had run of
| three" said q voice at my elbow.
| 1t was Kennedy. The roulette-tabls
| needs no Introduction when curious Sc
Qusnces are afoot. All are friends.
That's the theory Of Sir Hiram
Maxim" commented my friend, as no
excused himself reluctantly for an.
other appointment. But no true gam.
bier will believe II. monsieur. or at
least act on It,"
All eyes were turned on Kennedy.
who made . gesture Of polite depreca-
tion. a. II the remark Of my friend
were true. but-he nonchalantly placed
his chips on the AT"
The odds against IT appearing four
consecutive times are some Millions" he
went on. "and yet having appeared
three times. Il II Just as likely to APP
pear again a. before. II 10 the usual
practice to avoid a number that has had
a run. on the theory that some other
number II more likely to come up than
II IL. That would be the case II Il were
drawing balls from q bag full Of red and
the smaller the chance Of drawing an
other red one.
but II the balls are put back In the
bag after being drawn the chances OF
drawing red one after three have been
drawn are exactly the same as ever"
You talk like q professor had at
the university" calculated De Long
contemptuousiy.
The wheel spun again: the bail rolled.
The knot Of spectators around the table
watched with batsd breath.
Seventeen won!
A Kennedy piled up his winnings
supsrciiiousiy, without even the appear.
ance Of triumph. . man behind me
vhispered:
"a foreign nobleman with . System
watch him."
There u no way you can beat the
game in the long run n you kseo at IT,"
said Kennedy simply.
Perhaps" admitted De Long, 'but Il
Doesn't explain why an losing to.
night while every one else IL winning"
I'VE are not winning" persisted Craig
"After have had . bite to eat will
demonstrate how to loss-by keeping on
playing"
He led the way to the cafe.
DsLong Was too intent on the game
20 leave. even for refreshments.
You see. he 10 hopeless" muse1
Kennedy over our light rspast. And
yet Of all gambling games roulette
offers the player the best odds. far bet
ter than horse racing. for instance
Our method has usually been to outlaw
roulette and permit horse racing; In
other words. suppress the more favorable
and permit the less favorable. However.
we're doing better now; we're suppress
Ing both. OF course what I say applies
only to roulette when It y honestly
played-DsIons would lose anyhow, I
fear"
started at Ksnnedy's tone and
whispered hastily: what do you rnean3
Do you think the wheel 10 crooked7"
II haven't . doubt Of It," he replied
in An undertone THAT run OF IT might
happsn-yes. But It 10 improbable. They
let me w..i because was . new player
new players always win at hrst. Il y
proverbial. but the man who 10 rum
ping this game has made Il leok Hks
. platituds.
ITO satisfy myself on that point
am going to play agsin-untii ] have
lost my winnings and am Just square
with the game. When I reach the point
that I am convinced that some crooked
work 10 going on I am going to try .
little experiment, Walter, I want YOU
to stand close To me % that no one can
see what am dong. Do Just q I Win
indicate 20 you"
The Gambling room "a. nov s..,
Auinw up Win ths 6rst ~ ths th..tr.
crowd. DeIonr's table was fhs osnt,s