The gambler's recklessness possessed him; he was in such a state of excitement that he knew not what he did.
"Red wins," again said the dealer.
Twenty pounds were now heaped upon the red.
"Shall you keep the stake there, sir?" asked a smiling gentleman with bushy whiskers, who had taken great interest in the game.
"Yes," said Cecil, resolutely.
"Then I shall back against you," said the smiling gentleman, twirling a whisker round his finger, and throwing half a crown upon the black, with the air of a man undertaking an important enterprise.
"Red wins," again said the dealer.
"There's a run upon the red," sighed the bushy-whiskered gentleman, as his half-crown was raked away, and forty pounds stood there as Cecil's winnings. "I shall back you this time, sir; you are fortune's favourite, sir. Take a pinch of snuff, sir."
And with recovered hilarity he offered the box to Cecil, who bowed coldly, and took a pinch.
"Make your game, gentlemen," said the dealer.