"Vingt-neuf, noir, impair et passe!"
She clutched at his arm.
"Henry!" she gasped.
He laughed.
"Open your bag," he directed. "We'll soon fill it."
He left his stake untouched. Thirty-one turned up. He won two carrés and let the table go once without staking. Ten was the next number. Immediately he placed the maximum on number fourteen, carrés and chevaux. Again the pause, again the croupier's voice.
"Quatorze rouge, pair et manque!"
Hunterleys showed no exultation and scarcely any surprise. He gathered in his winnings and repeated his stake. This time he won one of his carrés. The next time quatorze turned up again. For half-an-hour he continued, following his few chosen numbers according to the run of the table. At the end of that time Violet's satchel was full and he was beginning to collect mille notes for his plaques. He made a little calculation in his mind and decided that he must already have won more than the necessary amount.
"Our last stake," he remarked coolly.
The preceding number had been twenty-six. He placed the maximum on twenty-nine, the carrés, chevaux, the column, colour and last dozen. He felt Violet's fingers clutching his arm. There was a little buzz of excitement all round the table as the croupier announced the number.