I kept watching him closely, and I saw there was a knack in it. A man who had tried twenty or thirty times, but without success, was turning away. On the impulse of the moment I spoke to him. “I can do it,” I said. “Lend me a penny and let me try; we’ll go halves if I win.”
The man looked at me rather dubiously. “Why don’t you risk your own money?” he asked. “Because I haven’t got any,” I replied. “Oh well, in that case here you are,” he said; and he handed me a penny.
I dropped the discs one by one, carefully, methodically, slowly, and—I covered the red. A great shout went up from the crowd. Everybody was delighted, including the proprietor. He wanted somebody to win occasionally, but not too often, and he made a tremendous fuss.
“Hi! Hi! Hi!” he cried. “The boy’s won a watch. Come along, you sports, now. Come and do likewise. Don’t let a lad like this beat you.”
He handed me the watch, and I gave it back to him, receiving in return three-and-sixpence. This, he explained, was because the law would not allow him to give a money prize direct. It was my first experience of how simple a thing it is to get round an inconvenient legal enactment, though not my last one by any means.
After sharing the cash with the “capitalist” who had financed my venture, I still had of course one shilling and ninepence left, and I invested a penny of this on my own account in another five discs.
Again I won. Things were getting lively. The crowd cheered louder than ever. I was more than cheerful. The proprietor tried his best to look cheerful also, but there was a glint of anxiety in his eyes.
For the third time I tried my luck, but this time I just failed. Or so, at least, the proprietor asserted. Producing a pin, he inserted the point between two of the discs without moving either of them, thereby proving to his satisfaction, if not quite to mine, that the red was not completely covered. Here was a new trick of the trade, I reflected; no smallest patch of red was visible, but the pin’s point showed apparently that it existed, therefore I had lost.
“Try! Try! Try again!” shouted the showman. “Faint heart never won fair lady.”
I took his advice, and this time I succeeded once more. This made three wins in four tries. “Clever lad!” cried the crowd. But the proprietor looked glum. He leaned over the table and implored me in a stage whisper to go away.