When I arrived in Paris I never expected to see them again. But the blind Madonna of the Pagan is not always concerning herself with roulette banks.
I remained in Paris till February. My sister helped me out of her private purse. Probably she would not have done so had she known how deeply I had pledged the old homestead. I began to feel like myself again. I cabled my brokers to buy July wheat, and mailed a thousand for margin.
From Paris I went to Nice. I met some Americans there. The gambling fever seemed to possess them all. I was dragged into the maelstrom. I became mad and unreasoning.
I arrived at Monaco with exactly one hundred louis. By this time I had mortgaged the estate to the last penny. I was nearing that precipice over which all gamblers finally tumble: ruin. Ruin makes a man reckless, defiant, devil-may-care. Heavens! what luck I had had! The gold had melted away "like snow upon the desert's dusty face."
Right in the middle of this fever came a call from Wall Street for more margin. I cabled back to my brokers to go, one and all, to the hottest place they could think of. I dared not ask my sister for any assistance, for she abhorred gambling of all kinds. Besides, I had some pride left. You wouldn't have believed all this of me, would you? But it is all true enough.
I had very serious thoughts of cashing in all my checks, and making the prince pay for my funeral. I shook my fist at his yacht which lay in the harbor below.
I made an inventory, and found that I possessed one hundred louis, and some twenty-odd pieces of miscellaneous coin. I wandered about till night, when I ate a remarkably good dinner, topping it off with a pint of chambertin and champagne mixed. This gave me a splendid courage.
At ten I took a promenade through the gardens and listened to the band, which is one of the finest in the world. They were playing Strauss waltzes. It was warm. To the north lay the mountain, to the south the Mediterranean trembled in the moonlight; the lights of the many private yachts twinkled. It was a mighty fair world—to those of cool blood and unruffled conscience. I jingled the louis, smoked three or four cigars, then directed my steps toward the Casino.
I immediately sought out that table which is close to the famous painting of the girl and the horse. I forget what you call the picture. The croupier was wizened and bald. Somehow I fancied that I saw 29 in the construction of his eyes and nose. So I placed a louis on that number. I won. Immediately I put fifty louis on the odd and fifty on the black, leaving my winnings on the lucky number. The ball rolled into zero. Very coolly I searched through my pockets. I put what silver I found on black. The ball tumbled into number 1, which is red.
I was, in the parlance of the day, absolutely strapped. My dinner had not been paid for, even. I lit a cigar. I even recalled seeing an actor play this piece of bravado. I arose from my chair, and flecked the ashes from my shirt bosom. I stared at the girl and the horse for a brief space and felt of my watch! Hello! I still had that, and with its jewels it was worth about four hundred dollars. I hurried back to the hotel and saw the proprietor. After an hour's dickering he consented to loan me five hundred francs on it. I wisely paid my bill for three days in advance.