s she nudged me. "See what we have won!
Surely it would be worth our while to stake four thousand instead of a
hundred, for we might win another four thousand, and then--! Oh, it was
YOUR fault before--all your fault!"

I felt greatly put out as I watched her play, but I decided to hold my
tongue, and to give her no more advice.

Suddenly De Griers appeared on the scene. It seemed that all this while
he and his companions had been standing beside us--though I noticed
that Mlle. Blanche had withdrawn a little from the rest, and was
engaged in flirting with the Prince. Clearly the General was greatly
put out at this. Indeed, he was in a perfect agony of vexation. But
Mlle. was careful never to look his way, though he did his best to
attract her notice. Poor General! By turns his face blanched and
reddened, and he was trembling to such an extent that he could scarcely
follow the old lady's play. At length Mlle. and the Prince took their
departure, and the General followed them.

"Madame, Madame," sounded the honeyed accents of De Griers as he leant
over to whisper in the Grandmother's ear. "That stake will never win.
No, no, it is impossible," he added in Russian with a writhe. "No, no!"

"But why not?" asked the Grandmother, turning round. "Show me what I
ought to do."

Instantly De Griers burst into a babble of French as he advised, jumped
about, declared that such and such chances ought to be waited for, and
started to make calculations of figures. All this he addressed to me in
my capacity as translator--tapping the table the while with his finger,
and pointing hither and thither. At length he seized a pencil, and
began to reckon sums on paper until he had exhausted the Grandmother's
patience.

"Away with you!" she interrupted. "You talk sheer nonsense, for, though
you keep on saying 'Madame, Madame,' you haven't the least notion what
ought to be done. Away with you, I say!"

"Mais, Madame," cooed De Griers--and straightway started afresh with
his fussy instructions.

"Stake just ONCE, as he advises," the Grandmother said to me, "and then
we shall see what we shall see. Of course, his stake MIGHT win."

As a matter of fact, De Grier's one object was to distract the old lady
from staking large sums; wherefore, he now suggested to her that she
should stake upon certain numbers, singly and in groups. Consequently,
in accordance with his instructions, I staked a ten-gulden piece upon
several odd numbers in the f