They watched Renée put a maximum on the eleven chances and one on No. 4, and saw with their own eyes the little ball tumble into one of the little compartments. All of them craned their necks to see, and yes, sure enough, the croupier shouted out--"Quatre, noir, pair et manque." The directors stared at one another, petrified with astonishment. One of them slipped away hurriedly and returned with Monsieur Eperon the Chef de Police of Monaco and two of his satellites. "Arrest them," cried the director in a loud voice, pointing to Renée and Delapine. A moment afterwards the chief cashier of the bank came running into the room. "Messieurs," he cried, "the bank is empty--not a sou remains in the coffers. Mon Dieu, what are we to do?" The bank was really broken--for the first time in the history of the Casino. The Administration formally declared the rooms closed, and Delapine and Renée were escorted to the police station, followed by the whole of their party together with Charley and Ridgeway who formed the rearguard. At length they entered one of the large rooms of the gendarmerie. Monsieur Eperon and two assistants sat down at a high table. Renée and Delapine stood in front of them while the directors stood around, and a whole crowd of witnesses filled the room behind. The police took the names and addresses of the accused. "Well, gentlemen, what is the crime you charge us with?" said the professor, drawing himself up to his full height, and looking at them with one of his commanding gestures. "You are accused of cheating at the tables," said the Chef de Police. "Cheating at the tables, what do you mean?" "The Administration of the Bank accuse you of having bribed the croupiers and of tampering with the wheel," replied M. Eperon, twirling his moustache and looking very fierce. "That is impossible," replied Delapine, "as the croupiers were changed each time they sent for more money." The croupiers were brought in and cross-examined. They swore that they had never spoken a word to either the professor or the lady who was playing with him. In the face of their denial it was seen to be useless to press the charge of bribery in connection with the croupiers, so after discharging them from further attendance, the Chef de Police decided that the solution of the mystery lay in the fact that Delapine and his accomplice must have tampered with the roulette wheel. "But the wheel has been changed no less than three times," asserted Delapine, "and on the last occasion I heard it remarked that a new wheel was used." Monsieur Eperon asked if it were true that a perfectly new wheel had been used, and on receiving a reply in the affirmative, shrugged his shoulders in a helpless manner. A short consultation was then held, as a result of which a roulette wheel was sent for, and the Chef de Police himself spun it round. "What number would you like the ball to fall into?" enquired Delapine quietly. "No. 29," replied M. Eperon.