"Well, there is no hurry. I haven't done you any harm yet, and I don't mean to. Why are you so anxious to get rid of me?" Of course, Don Pedro's principal fear was that Bernardi would learn how large a sum the former had received for his bogus mines, and that he would not be satisfied to go unless he got a large slice of the plunder. It would not do, however, to excite his suspicions by appearing too desirous of sending him away, so the Don changed his tone, and said: "Oh! I'm sure I don't want to get rid of you as long as you keep sober and don't talk about me; but you know how it is, Pietro; if you should get drunk and talk about me, you would tell everything you know, and the result would be that I should have to flee the town without accomplishing my object. In that case, I should lose not only all that I hoped to make, but also all the immense outlay I have made in preparing my scheme. If you want to go to New Orleans again, I will start you in a faro-bank there, and will come down there next winter to play with you; but I confess I should feel easier if you were out of Gloster for the present." "Well, I will be ready to go in a few days, if you insist upon it, but I don't see the necessity of such haste. However, I will come in again and talk about it before the end of the week. I want to win a little more before I go." "How have you been betting?" asked Morito, in a conciliatory manner. "I have been 'coppering' the jack and playing the ace and queen 'open,'[A] and I have won constantly. I left them a few times and played other cards, but I always lost when I did so. Now I am going to stick to that scheme right along." [A] These are technical terms in playing faro. The player meant that he was in the habit of making one bet that the jack would be a losing card all the time, and another that the ace and queen would be winning cards. "Where are you playing?" asked the Don, carelessly. "I generally go to Dave Carter's, in Mahogany Block, for I think he deals a 'square' game." "Yes, I suppose so," said Morito; "as much so as any of them; but they are all sharpers here, and they may have been letting you win on purpose, thinking that you had a large sum in reserve which they hope to catch hereafter. If you will take my advice, you will stop while you are ahead. You know, from your own experience as a banker, that the 'bank' always wins in the end." "Well, I shall try a few more games, and then I shall be ready to talk with you about going South. I want to run my luck while it is good," and so saying, Bernardi rose to go. "All right, Pietro," said Don Pedro, "be careful not to get swindled, and to keep silent about me." The moment Bernardi was gone, the Don rang his bell violently, and sent for Monsieur Lesparre. When the latter entered the Don's room, he found his employer in a more disturbed and excited condition than he had ever before indulged in, and evidently he meant mischief to some one.