d. To the dawn of
morn we played; the bright sun shone in, and yet we played--the midday
came, and went--the stimulant of wine supported us, and still we played;
then came the shadows of evening, stealing on in all their beauty. But
what were they to us, amid those mutations of fortune, which, at one
moment, made us princes, and placed palaces at our control, and, at
another, debased us below the veriest beggar, that craves the stinted
alms of charity from door to door.

"And there was one man who, from the first to the last, stayed by us
like a very fiend; more than man, I thought he was not human. We won of
all, but of him. People came and brought their bright red gold, and laid
it down before us, but for us to take it up, and then, by a cruel stroke
of fortune, he took it from us.

"The night came on; we won, and he won of us; the clock struck
twelve--we were beggars. God knows what was he.

"We saw him place his winnings about his person--we saw the smile that
curved the corners of his lips; he was calm, and we were maddened. The
blood flowed temperately through his veins, but in ours it was burning
lava, scorching as it went through every petty artery, and drying up all
human thought--all human feeling.

"The winner left, and we tracked his footsteps. When he reached the open
air, although he had taken much less than we of the intoxicating
beverages that are supplied gratis to those who frequent those haunts of
infamy, it was evident that some sort of inebriation attacked him; his
steps were disordered and unsteady, and, as we followed him, we could
perceive, by the devious track that he took, that he was somewhat
uncertain of his route.

"We had no fixed motive in so pursuing this man. It was but an impulsive
proceeding at the best; but as he still went on and cleared the streets,
getting into the wild and open country, and among the hedge-rows, we
began to whisper together, and to think that what we did not owe to
fortune, we might to our own energy and courage at such a moment.

"I need not hesitate to say so, since, to hide the most important
feature of my revelation from you, would be but to mock you; we resolved
upon robbing him.

"And was that all?"

"It was all that our resolution went to. We were not anxious to spill
blood; but still we were resolved that we would accomplish our purpose,
even if it required murder for its consummation. Have you heard enough?"

"I have not heard enough, although