I took a louis from my purse and with the rake carelessly pushed it upon the line he had indicated. Then I turned to talk with Gerald. “Rien ne va plus!” cried the croupier. A hundred necks were craned to watch the result. The ball fell with a final click into one of the little spaces upon the wheel. “Neuf! Rouge, impair et manque!” “You’ve won, my dear!” cried Ulrica excitedly, and in a few moments Reggie, who raked up my winnings, gave me quite a handful of gold. “There now,” he said, laughing, “you’ve made your first coup. Try again.” I crammed the gold into my purse, but it would not hold it all. The three louis which would not go in I held in indecision in my hand. “Play on the treize-dix-huit this time!” urged Reggie, and I obeyed him blindly. The number 18 came up, therefore I again received another little handful of gold. I knew that many envious eyes were cast in my direction, and to me the excitement of winning was an entirely new sensation. Ulrica fancied the last dozen, and I placed five louis upon it, winning a third time. Having won eight hundred francs in three turns of the wheel, I began to think roulette not such wearying fun as I had once believed it to be. I wanted to continue playing, but the others prevented me. They knew too well that the bank at Monte Carlo only lends its money to the players. With Reggie at my side I went out and strolled through those beautiful gardens beside the sea, watched the pigeon-shooting, and afterwards sat on the terrace of the Café de Paris and enjoyed the brilliant sundown. CHAPTER III IS A MYSTERY I was left alone with Reggie, for Ulrica had taken Gerald in to the orchestral concert. “What awfully good luck you had!” he observed after we had been chatting some time. “If you’d had the maximum on each time you’d have won about four thousand dollars.” “There are a good many if’s in gambling,” I remarked. “I’ve never had any luck before in gambles at bazaars and such-like places.” “When you do have luck, follow it, is my motto,” he laughed. “I should have advised you to continue playing to-day, only I thought it might annoy Ulrica,” and he raised his glass to his lips. “But I might have lost all that I won,” I remarked. “No, I prefer to keep it. I’d like to be unique among the people and go away with some of the bank’s money. I intend to keep what I have, and not to play again.” “Never?” “Never!”