see I win." The dealer had thrown down a half dollar on top of Noah's.
"Now, come, seven." Noah flung them again.

Sure enough seven came up again. A dollar was pitched out to him. He
left the two dollars lying. This time he threw eleven and won again.
Four dollars! Noah was in great glee.

"Let's go," urged Bob.

"One more throw," Noah brought up a 6 this time.

"Now," he explained, "I've got to throw until another 6 comes. If I
get a seven before I do a six, they win." His next throw was a seven,
and the dealer raked in the four dollars.

"Oh, well," sighed Noah, "only fifty cents of that was mine, anyway.
And the poor gamblers have to live.

"This," he explained, stopping at a table waist high around which a
circle of men stood with money and cards in front of them, "is Black
Jack.

"You put down the amount of money you want to bet. The banker deals
everybody two cards, including himself. But both your cards are face
down, while his second card is face up.

"The game is to see who can get closest to 21. You look at your cards.
All face cards count for ten; ace counts for either 1 or 11 as you
prefer.

"If your cards don't add enough, you can get as many more as you ask
for. But if you ask for a card and it makes you run over 21, you lose
and push your money over. Say you get a king and a 9--that is 19, and
you stand on that, and push your cards under your money.

"When all the rest have all the cards they want, the dealer turns his
over. Say he has a 10 and a 8. He draws. If he gets a card that puts
him over 21, he goes broke and pays everybody. But if he gets say
18--then he pays all those who are nearer 21 than he; but all who have
less than 18 lose."

While Noah had been explaining, he had been playing, and lost a dollar
on each of two hands.

They moved on to a chuck-a-luck game.

"This, you see," said Noah, "is a sort of bird cage with three
overgrown dice. You put your money on any one of these six numbers.
He whirls the cage and shakes up the fat dice. They fall--and if one
of the three numbers which come up is yours, you win.
Otherwise--ouch!" Noah had played a dollar on the 5; and a 1, 2 and a
6 came up.

As they moved away Noah was shaking his head disconsolately.

"Money is like a shadow that soon flees away--and you have to hoe
cotton in the morning."

"Don't you know," said Bob, earnestly, "that everyone of these games
give the house from 6 to 30 per cent., and t