at Snell had been losing right along, and he sneered:

"There's an old saying, 'A fool for luck,' you know."

"It applies in this case," laughed Frank. "If I wasn't a fool, I
wouldn't be in this game."

"What's the matter with this game?" asked Harris. "Isn't the limit
high enough to suit you?"

"That's the matter," said Dare, swiftly. "Let's raise the limit."

"Let's throw it off," urged Snell. "What's the use of limit, any how?"

Frank shook his head.

"I don't believe in a no-limit game," he said. "There are none of us
millionaires."

"And for that very reason, none of us will play a heavy game," said
Sam. "We have played a no-limit game before, and nobody ever bets more
than a dollar or so. That doesn't happen once a game, either."

"Twenty-five cents is usually the limit of our bets," declared Harris.

"Then raise the limit to a quarter," said Frank. "I am willing to give
you fellows a show to get back your money."

But they did not fancy having the limit a quarter, and quite a long
argument ensued, which resulted in the game being resumed as a no-limit
affair.

"There!" breathed Wat Snell, "this is something like it. Now I can do
something. If a fellow wanted to bluff he couldn't do it on a ten-cent
limit."

Hodge had said very little, but he seemed willing and ready to throw
off the limit.

The change of limit did not seem to affect Merriwell's luck, for he
continued to win.

"I believe you are a wizard!" exclaimed Sam Winslow. "You seem to read
a fellow's cards."

Wat Snell growled continually, and the more he growled the more he lost.

"Oh, wait till I catch 'em by-and-by," he said, as he saw Frank rake in
a good pot. "I won't do a thing to you, if I get a good chance!"

"If you have the cards, you will win," was the reply. "They are coming
for me now, and I am simply playing 'em."

Hodge had lost something, but he said little, being more than satisfied
as long as Frank was winning.

Thus the hours passed.

By one o'clock Frank was far ahead of the game, but he still played on,
for he knew it would not seem right for him to propose stopping.

Dare, Harris and Winslow were nearly broken, but they still hung on,
hoping for a turn in their direction. Snell had plenty of money, for
all that he had been the heaviest loser.

Finally there came a good-sized jackpot, which Dare opened. Snell was
the next man, and he promptly raised it fifty cents. Winslow dropped
out, and H