to the table, lighted cigarettes or pipes, and
began the game. Hugh had been right; the "two-bit limit" was soon
lifted, and Allen urged his guests to go as far as they liked.

There were ugly rumors about Allen around the campus. He was good
looking, belonged to a fraternity in high standing, wore excellent
clothes, and did fairly well in his studies; but the rumors persisted.
There were students who insisted that he hadn't the conscience of a
snake, and a good many of them hinted that no honest man ever had such
consistently good luck at cards and dice.

The other boys soon got heated and talkative, but Allen said little
besides announcing his bids. His blue eyes remained coldly
expressionless whether he won or lost the hand; his crisp, curly brown
hair remained neatly combed and untouched by a nervous hand; his lips
parted occasionally in a quiet smile: he was the perfect gambler, never
excited, always in absolute control of himself.

Hugh marveled at the control as the evening wore on. He was excited,
and, try as he would, he could not keep his excitement from showing.
Luck, however, was with him; by ten o'clock he was seventy-five dollars
ahead, and most of it was Allen's money.

Hugh passed by three hands in succession, unwilling to take any chances.
He had decided to "play close," never betting unless he held something
worth putting his money on.

Allen dealt the fourth hand. "Ante up," he said quietly. The five other
men followed his lead in tossing chips into the center of the table. He
looked at his hand. "Two blue ones if you want to stay in." Winsor and
two of the men threw down their cards, but Hugh and a lad named Mandel
each shoved two blue chips into the pot.

Hugh had three queens and an ace. "One card," he said to Allen. Allen
tossed him the card, and Hugh's heart leaped when he saw that it was an
ace.

"Two cards, Ted," Mandel requested, nervously crushing his cigarette in
an ash-tray. He picked up the cards one at a time, lifting each slowly
by one corner, and peeking at it as if he were afraid that a sudden full
view would blast him to eternity. His face did not change expression as
he added the cards to the three that he held in his hand.

"I'm sitting pretty," Allen remarked casually, picking up the five
cards that he had laid down before he dealt.

The betting began, Hugh nervous, openly excited, Mandel stonily calm,
Allen completely at ease. At first the bets were for a dollar, but the