Evening star., 1922-03-19

n SOCletS AnOny tuS ucS odiAto
Mer de Monaco. which, In
plain English, is the Casino at Monte
Carlo. :
y Fortunes have been and are still
lost and won upon the green-coysred
tables Of those gorgeously-gflqeo
salons where Vice rubs shoulders
with Avarice, and where the monde
is upon equality with the desnf-
monde. But the world has remained
in ignorance of a series of exciting
circumstances which think the
reader will agree to be quite remark
able.
AS one who has spent many vim
ters on the Riviera, and, who. mas
risked his golden louis upon the ia
pic vert with varying fortune-ior
the gambling spirit Is SO contagl-
Gus that the visitor cannot help piac-
ing a modest stake upon the rouge
or noir or upon a transversale or a
chevalI am on friendly terms with
many Of the staff Of the beautiful
establishment beside the sapphire
sea.
One day. while making, some OBJ
servations for the purpose OF writing
a novel with a background of Monte
Carlo life, 1 sat in the office OF NJ.
Henri Joaquin. the ,baldheaded,t y.af-
fable director Of the Casino. and
asked him to relate to me any secret
concerning the greatest gambling
concern in the world.
The story he related to me / give
in his own way. for l shall tran
scribe it from the notes took at the
time.
X = * *
AT first NJ Joaquin was rather dis
inclined to reveal the facts. In
deed. he admitted to me that his hesi-
tation was due to doubt whether
the public ought really to be let into
the secret. Naturally, I pressed him
to disclose the truth, and at last he
= did so.
we'll recollect that bright. sunny
afternoon: Through the long win
dows of his comfortable Office I could
see through the palms the Mediter-
ranean, Of that intense deep blue
which those who have: been to
:, Monty" know SO we'll. Ever and
anon came the pop-pop Of the tir aux
pigeons, while sometimes, as he re-
vealed the secret, men dressed in
somber black came with slips of pa
per for him to sign and departed
without a word-receipts for further
tables.
The great secret Of Monte Carlo
was discovered about three years ago
by an old Italian woman named Laura
Bertelli. This woman, a widow. who
was an habituee, and. indeed, earned
her living in the rooms, was a native
Of Bologna. You will. he saiS. Won
der how she earned her living. Well,
briefly, each. day when the roulette
tables opened she secured one OF the
best seats, pretended to play with
pieces of cent sous, and then. when
the crowd came in the afternoon. she
sold her seat for twenty francs to
one Of the visitors.
We have a dozen such old women
who do this regularly seven days
each week, and on seven louis per
week live quite well. I assure you.
Old Signora Bertelli had done this
for a number of years. and had be-
come one Of the best known char
aoters in the rooms. seated each day
at the same table, noting the winning
numbers upon her card. and. though
she risked but little, she was. never
theless, an adept playertat roulette.
She had sometimes with her a
niece. a very haodsSme,s dark eyed
young Italian girl. named Anita Mar
chetti, whose beauty was much re-
marked by the visitors. but the only
friend she appeared to have, save
her aunt. was tall. well-set-up
Englishman, whose name was Archi-
bald Grant. noticed the pair in the
rooms on one or two occasions, some
times eagerly watching the table at
which Signora Bertelli piayed-the
first table on the right as you enter
the rooms:
Suddenly, all three were missed
from their usual spot. After week
the head croupier Of the table in
question inquired of friend of the
signora, an old French woman. named
Pisrret, and learned that the widow
had been taken very unwell and had
gone back to Bologna with her niece.
and that Archie Grant had returned
to London.
NEARLY three months, went by.
w when there. reappeared at the
table the pretty Anita with her Eng
lish admirer, together with an ell
derly, bald-headed Spaniard. whose
name, we learned, was Jose Vasquez,
- ,,.o~ o{p1v dracsed who had the
air Of a deputy.
For several days they were merely
onlookers, the old man seated :oppo-
site the girl, carefully registering the
numbers from one to thirty-six. as
they came up at each coup.
The girl lived expensively at the
Hotel de Paris. while the elderly man
had taken up, his quarters at the
Metropole with young Grant. At first
they attracted no attention. Our de-
partment of surveillance is usually
very alert, but there was nothing un-
usual about them, save the girls
extraordinary beauty.
Ono afternoon, however, as the pair
were seated, as usual. confronting
each other, the man-just as the
croupier turned the wheel-gave .
signal to the girl, behind whose chair
Young Grant was standing. where
upon she produced bundle OF bank
notes from a capacious purse and
placed the maximum Of 5000 francs
en-, plein upon number twenty-eight.
About 200 people were around the
tame, and Instantly every one was
f,l>6 with excitement It is not often