f trade. However, I had only
collected this slender store in the hopes of increasing it, and as soon
as night came down and such places are open, I marched off to a
gambling hell which I knew of in the low part of the town near the
harbour side. The way lay through many passages and up many steps, and
it was by no means a place to which the general public were admitted.
In fact, in its style it was far more exclusive than the _salle de
jeu_ run by Monsieur Blanc's successors at Monte. But I had been
there before, and knew how to get the _entree_.

The whitewashed walls were grimy, the two naked gas-jets jumped and
hooted spasmodically, and those who knew said that the atmosphere was
reminiscent of a slaver's hold. The officials wore their shirt-sleeves
rolled up for greater ease in movement, and no gentleman was allowed to
enter the room till he had deposited his knife outside the door.

With the fluctuating population of a seaport, one might reasonably
expect to find most nationalities represented at such a seductive spot;
but, as a point of fact, the operators on that night were almost
exclusively Italians. The sailor, take him in the bulk, is a tolerable
fool all the world over; but the northerner has some grains of sense
though he is a sportsman, and roulette with twenty-six numbers and a
zero is a trifle too strong an order even for him.

I had fixed my desires at a hundred and twenty lire. Less would not see
me through; more I was not going to try for.

In that assembly a man who plunges half-lire pieces on every spin of
the ball is a man who means business; and the _dilettanti_ soon
let me press through to a stool at the table. Going on _pair_ and
_impair_ or the colour was not to my taste. Either luck was going
to stand by me that evening, or I was going to be broke; so I planked
my money haphazard on four numbers every time, and didn't handicap
myself with a system. I'd a distinct suspicion that the bank had even a
greater pull than was apparent on the surface; but there was no chance
of investigation, and I submitted to the fact that chances all-told
stood about two to one against me.

The play was slow, and for ordinary people unexciting, though you can
guess it did not send me to sleep. I won a little, and lost a little;
but on the whole was able to shove a ten-lire note every now and again
into my pocket. It doesn't do to leave such trifles about in some
places.

A clock outside chimed ten, and I cou