Evening star., 1922-03-19

5 THOUGH SHE HAD ONLY WON
rooms, and every one was now watch
ing upon. what number she would
play next. in order to follow her.
CUDDENLY. as 1 stood there, l saw
- the old man and the girl ex-
change signs, whereupon the latter
placed the maximum upon number
thirty-three.
In an instant dozens, of hands of
both sexes placed money upon the
table on the transversale, the odd
number, the column" and the noir.
1 confess that I awaited the game
with interest. All eyes were fixed
upon the table. The. young English
revue actress, whose name I do not
recall. flung a billet of 1000 francs
upon the number, with a gay laugh
to man behind her.
"Rien ne va plus" cried the crou-
pier sharply. after he had spun the
red and black wheel and the little
ivory BAH was clicking upon its way.
For a few seconds, as usual. all
were breathless in the tension of the
game.
"Trente-trois: Noir.'' cried the
croupier in his harsh tone. which
echoed through the great salon, and
the gay. dark-haired Anita had won
once more, while her following
crowd OF players had also gained.
A., 1af< CHI =
me. and, halting. exclaimed in a low
but tantalizing whisper:
"Ah. M'sieur Joaquin. Do you not
regret that you did not come to an
arrangement rather than allow US to
ruin the administrations
"Mademoiselle, regret nothing"
was my rather stiff reply.
Not tonight, but you will be full
Of regret soon, for whatever you
offer US We will not now accept"
Suppose I give orders that neither
you nor your friends be admitted j
asked.
Then we should sell our secret to
others. Believe me, there would be
many eager to buy at huge figure"
And. laughing gayly. she followed
young Grant and, the old Spaniard
out.
went home to my fiat down in La
! Condamine that night full of grave
reflections. Here was a person who
had actually discovered a means to
insure our defeat!
Next day, and yet the next, the trio
continued to win big coups of the
maximum. Then in the evening all
three left and went across to dine at
Ciro's.
BY this time the fame of the bella
Anita" as she was called, had spread
through all Monte Carlo. Nice, Cannes
and Mentone, and each time she en-
tered the rooms the table was in
stantly crowded by those eager to
follow her play.
When a person plays a game of
chance and never. fails to win. ones
suspicious must be at once aroused.
Mine were. held a meeting with my
associates of the administration, and
before us we had. a. table Of their
winnings They. were staggering.
The girl and her associates had al
ready banked 126,000 pounds! We
saw that lit, was now high time that
we bestirred- ourselves.
4: y X 4
HoBAR, one of:our directors, jeered
L at the whole affair and declared
that the combination would in the
end ruin itself. I replied that all
systems ended in ruin, but the present
one could not II. as had been proved,
the players had never once lost.
we>resolved to watch still another
day-a day which proved disastrous,
for the little dark-eyed girl, with her
English lover behind her, broke the
bank soon after z o'clock in the aft
ernoon. =
Each day, be it remarked, they car
ried their winning to the Compton
ldEscompte, now placing them in the
joint names Of Signorina ,Marchettt
and young Grant, whose address the
latter had given as at "Fitzjohn's ave-
nue., Hampstead, London."
grew anxious. AS the person re-
sponsible for the well, being OF the
Casino company, felt it my duty to
report to the president Of the COM
pany, NJ. Destruge, in. Paris.
did SO by telegraph. and the same
night from my own fiat talked to MIN
| over the telephone.
Let them go on" he laughed.
They certainly can, never win In the
long run"
With this view i ventured to DIFF
fer, but he was so emphatic that was
1 forced to accept>his opinion. NY own