The plan of the lottery was this: It was generally supposed that the ship's run would be about 270 miles; and it was considered quite certain, as has already been stated, that it would not be more than 280, nor less than 260. So they made twenty tickets, by cutting five of the Colonel's visiting cards into quarters, which tickets were to represent all the numbers from 261 to 280, inclusive. They wrote the numbers upon these cards, omitting, however, the first figure, namely, the 2, in order to save time; for as that figure came in all the numbers, it was considered unnecessary to write it. When the numbers were written thus upon the cards, the cards themselves were all put into a cap[B] and shaken up, and then every one who had paid a half sovereign drew out one, the colonel holding the hat up high all the time, so that no one could see which number he drew. This operation was performed in the midst of jokes and gibes and loud shouts of laughter, which made the whole scene a very merry one. When Hilbert came to draw, the merriment was redoubled. Some called on the Colonel to hold down the cap lower, so that Bob could reach it. Others said that he was sure to get the lucky number, and that there was no chance at all for the rest of them. Others, still, were asking him what he would take for his ticket, or for half of it, quarter of it, and so on. Hilbert was half pleased and half ashamed at being the object of so much coarse notoriety; while Rollo, who had drawn up toward the place, and was looking on from a safe distance as the proceedings that were going on, was very glad that he was not in Hilbert's place. [Footnote B: Gentlemen always wear caps on board ship. Hats are in the way, and would, moreover, be in danger of being blown off by the wind; in which case, as they would go overboard at once, there would be no possibility of recovering them.] The ticket that Hilbert drew was marked 67. It denoted, of course, the number 267; and that, being pretty near to the number of miles which it was thought the ship would probably make, was considered quite a valuable ticket. The owners of the several tickets, as soon as the drawing was completed, began to compare them and talk about them, and to propose bargains to one another for buying and selling them, or exchanging them. In these negotiations each man was endeavoring to outwit and circumvent his friend, in hopes of buying his ticket for a moderate sum, and drawing the whole prize with it. Others were engaged in betting on particular tickets. These bets, when they were made, they recorded in little memorandum books kept for the purpose. In fact, a very noisy and tumultuous scene of bargaining, and betting, and barter ensued. Hilbert was very much pleased with his ticket. He went to show it to Rollo. He said he verily believed that he had got the exact ticket to draw the prize. He did not think the ship would go quite 270 miles.