"Frank," said he, "I wish you would take me again to Jermyn-street."
"What! you want to try another coup?"
"Yes; I have a presentiment I shall win. At any rate, it is worth risking a few pounds."
"I am going there this evening. Dine with me at the club. I will explain to you an infallible martingale by which we must win. Damme, I'll break all the banks in London."
"How? how?"
"You know enough, Cis, of the game to understand my explanation. The martingale is this: always to back the winning colour, and double your losses till you win. Look'ye here—Suppose I place a pound on the red, and black wins; black is then the winning colour and I back it; but having lost, I must double my stake: so I put two pounds on the black. Well, red wins, damme its eyes! I have lost three pounds. What do I? place four pounds on the red, which is then the winning colour. If red wins again, I have recovered my three pounds staked, and one pound over. I back red again, and again, so long as red continues to win. Directly black wins, I double my stake, and regain my loss."
"I see, I see!"
"It's as clear as day. The only possibility of losing is, that red and black should alternately win all the night through; but as that never has been known, we must not think of such a chance."
"But then you only win your original stake each time?"
"Of course; but you are sure to win it. The only objection to our putting our scheme in practice is the absolute necessity for a large sum of money to begin with."