"And immediately suspect the cause. Oh, that you should do such a thing! And I trusted you! Something told me not to let you carry the money."
"Oh, bother!" This was said in good English; and I looked over the top of my magazine.
"What made you do it?" wailed the girl. "Six thousand pounds, and father gave five of it to you to buy consols with. It will break his heart, and mother's too. It was all the ready money he had."
"Curse it, I'd have broke the bank in another moment. But 17, 20 and 32 never came up till all my cash was gone. Why, I had the maximum on black, even, the second dozen, and 20, one play. If it had come up I'd have broke the bank."
"But it didn't come up; it never does. What will you do? What excuse will you have?"
"I can tell the pater that I was robbed,"—lamely.
"You wouldn't lie, Dick!"
"Oh, of course not. I'll get it of old Uncle Lewis. My chance at the estate is worth twenty times six thousand. Damn the luck!" The youth swore softly in his native tongue, and I could see the sparkle of a tear behind the girl's veil.
Ah! I recollected. It was the young fellow whom I had seen at the Casino, plunging heavily. These roulette wheels were pretty gruesome things. I congratulated myself on being out of it. But I passed the congratulations a little too early, as will be seen. Your Uncle Lewis, I thought, would never get his pawnbroker's claws on any of my property.