The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-01-25
BY Vincente BlascO Ibanez
Author Of "The Four Horsemen
OF the Apocalypse" and Other
Novels of World Renown.

A FEW women passed the
"A door Of the bar with an ILL
"A humored air, gesticulating
among themselves. They appeared
o scandalized and annoyed by the
Duchess &c Delille's good fortune,
In spite of the fact that none of
them had lost cent in the
play. Such luck was unnatural,
there must have been some cheat
ling. They could not say in what
the cheating consisted, but it ex-
listed, undoubtedly.
Later he saw the Greek, fol-
lowed by two admirers. His face
was sweating, his shirtbosom
wrinkled and his vest had worked
:, up. showing his shirt between
the gray silk points and his belt
He was Struggling his shoulders
scornfully. The world was up
e, side down: there was no such
thing as logic any more. That
., was why the war was going so
badly.
And he walked away in the di-
e. rection of the subterranean pas.
sage to return to the Hotel de
e Paris. He did not care to see any
more OF it; it was a night for
iunatics
Neither did the Prince care to
be witness. and he remained in
his arm chair, asking for another
cocktail. In front of the door he
could see passing those whom an
others good luck had embittered,
and who were fleeing, and those
who were arriving. attracted by
the news of the event.
He remained alone, like a spec
tator who stays in the lobby of a
theater and listens TO the far-off
pulsing thrills of the audience.
Long intervals of silence passed.
Later, there was a murmur,
sigh from the crowd, a buzz o.
comments circulating in low tones.
Was Alicia still winning? Or was
he going TO see her appear like
the Greek, struggling her Shout
ders at the absurdity of fate?
He asked for still another
glass: and. gazing at the spirals
OF smoke from bis cigar, he was
"a ling asleep. Suddenly he sat
VI Imagining he had received a
sharp blow on his shoulders. 1t
was a mere illusion. He was
alone. Gazing about him, he
noticed the clock. 1t was 9. He
stood up and slowly walked
toward the baccarat room.
Alicia Expressicnless.
The crowd had thinned out, but
all those who had remained were
taking a hand in the play.
The enormous sum amassed by
the bank was temptation. No
h''d " AedI tIidL the winners
would not be paid. Even the
mere spectators who spend the
night on their feet, sharing other
peoples emotion, were risking
their money louis by louis, hoping
that this burst of luck which
wholly favored the bank, would
Change in favor of the crowd.
The first thing that Michael
saw was an enormous heap of
thousand-franc notes. five-thou-
sand-franc chips, and chips and
bills of various amounts. 1t was
q fortune. Then he noticed Alicia,
sitting motionless in her seat, just
az he had left her, with the
expressionless face of a caryatid
Her eyes merely looked me-
chemically back and forth from
that heap of wealth to the hands
of the banker She was smoking,
smoking. On a tray which Il
lackey had placed reverentIy be-
side the victorious woman there
was pile of gold-tipped cigarette
butts
She seemed stupefied by her
Success. by the monotony of her
constant luck
The pianist was beginning to
display a certain somnolence in
his looks and III his voice. Mere
winning seemed something in
sipid to him, after the flight OF
that admirable Greek. Similarly
other famous gamblers had dis
appeared, as though not caring to
authenticate by their presence
such an absurd run of luck.
The only real competitors were
some English people from Beau.
lieu. whose automobiles were
waiting below This extraordi-
nary game interested them, as
though il were some unusual
sport; they were anxious to
fight aRainst the hank'a good