the initiated were still admitted, amongst them, of
course, Saurin and his shadow, Edwards. The latter, who, as was said in
a former chapter, had a peculiar fondness for games of chance, was
positively infatuated with this device of young Slam's. It interfered
with his studies by day, and he dreamed of it by night, so much did it
engross his thoughts. He was never easy unless staking his shillings on
that table, and watching eagerly whether the little ball would drop into
a red hole or a black one. Saurin did not take half the interest in it
at first, the principal attraction for him lying in the illegality, and
the tampering with what he had heard and read of as having been the ruin
of so many thousands. And he thought what fools they must be. There
were many ways in which he could well imagine anyone spending his last
penny, but not over a toy like this. But one day he came away a winner
of a couple of sovereigns, and there was something in seeing the
shillings and half-crowns gathering into a pile before him which caused
him to catch the sordid fever with which his friend was infected.
Hitherto he had made his stakes carelessly, but now he took a deeper
interest in the thing. Sometimes he had won a few shillings and Edwards
had lost, and at other times it went the other way, but the winner's
gains were never so great as the loser's losses, and it was evident that
the difference must remain with the conductor of the game, Josiah Slam.

"Why, we have been practically playing against each other for that
rogue's benefit!" exclaimed Saurin, when he made this discovery. "In
future we must always stake our money the same way." And this they did.

Then Saurin had another bright idea. It was an even chance each time
whether red or black won, just the same as heads or tails in tossing, so
it could not go on very long being one or the other in succession.
Then, supposing they staked on red, and it turned up black several
times, they had only to persevere with red and increase the stake and
they must win their losses back, while if it was red several times they
would have a clear gain.

This appeared to Edwards as a stroke of genius, and he was in a state of
fever till they had an opportunity of putting it in practice. And it
answered at first; but presently one colour, the wrong one, won so many
times running that all their united capital went into Josiah's bank.

They looked at one another in blank dismay; there