As for the process employed in impressing the mysterious mark I have mentioned, I may be excused from stating it, as my object is to expose swindling, and not show the way to do it. Suffice it to say that, looked at closely, this point is lost in the white of the card; but, at a distance, the light renders the card brilliant, while the mark alone remains dull. At the first blush, it will appear, perhaps, rather difficult to find out the division to which the isolated dot on the back of the card belongs. Still, by a little attention, it may be accurately detected by a practised eye. Thus, on my diagram, the dot indicates the Queen of Diamonds. It must be remembered that a Greek using these cards stakes, I will not say his honor but, his liberty, against fortune, and that he has carefully studied an art on which his livelihood depends. After the explanation I have given, I can easily imagine my reader forming an heroic determination. “Since these things take place,” he says to himself, “I will only play with chequered cards, and so I shall be safe.” Unfortunately, chequered cards are better adapted for swindling purposes than the others, and to prove it, I must employ another diagram. Suppose the chequer to be formed of dots or any other figures regularly arranged, as is usually the case with fancy backed cards: DIAGRAM 2. +-----------------------------+ | | | * * * * | | | | . . . | | | | * * * * | | | | . . . | | | | . * * * * | | | | . . . | | | | * * * * | | | +-----------------------------+ the first dot, starting from the left-hand top of the card, as in the previous diagram, will represent hearts; the second, downwards, diamonds; the third, clubs; and the fourth, spades. If, now, another small dot is placed by the side of one of these chequers, it will indicate the value of the card. This dot must be placed in one of the divisions marked in fig. 3 The topmost point indicates an ace; the next, to the right, a king; the third, a queen; the fourth, a knave; and so on. Of course, a single dot, as in fig. 2, when it is placed by the third point or color, indicates the eight of clubs. [Illustration] There are many other arrangements, but they are more difficult to explain than to understand. Thus I have had chequered cards given me to inspect which had had no mark at all on them, but the pattern was more or less altered by the way in which the cards were shaped, and this simple peculiarity indicated them all.