"Do tell us some more about the game," said Renée to her lover.
"Well, there is not much more to say."
"Are all the people playing, and do they all play the same way?"
"By no means, they are quite different. The players may be divided into three classes," said Delapine with a cynical smile. "First, those who play in order to retrieve their fortunes with an eye to the main chance—such people invariably lose their money. Secondly, those who play merely for the fun of the thing—these sometimes win, because they know when to leave off. And lastly there are those who look on. They enjoy the fun because it costs them nothing, and at the same time they flatter their vanity by giving advice—which by the way is always wrong, with a superb faith in their own infallibility."
"Where do the plungers come in, professor?" asked Riche.
"The plungers! Oh, they consist of men who have either everything or nothing to lose, and women who always play with other people's money. Look there," he added, pointing to a beautiful fair woman with a long graceful neck ornamented by a diamond necklace ending in a magnificent diamond and sapphire pendant. She was very elegantly dressed, and was sitting at the table with a sheaf of bank notes and several rolls of gold between her hands.
"Which class does she belong to?" asked Violette.
"She is a distinguished member of the first class," replied the professor.
"Do you notice that rather handsome young man with fair curly hair, and a pointed glossy beard just standing behind her?" said Marcel. "See he is whispering something in her ear."