"What's that—Yevsey?"
"My cousin. Will you have some tea?"
"We're all akin in our natural skin. Have you whiskey?"
Piotr told Klimkov to order a bottle of whiskey and some refreshments. Yevsey obeyed, then seated himself at the table, putting the samovar between his face and the visitor's, so as not to be seen by him.
"How's business, card sharper?" he asked, nodding his head at the cards.
Piotr suddenly half raised himself from the chair, and said animatedly:
"I have found out the secret! I have found out the secret!"
"You have found it out?" queried the visitor. "Fool!" he exclaimed, drawling the word and shaking his head.
Piotr seized the note-book and rapping his fingers on it continued in a hot whisper:
"Wait, Sasha. I have had the sixteenth coincidence already. You get the significance of that? And I made only one one thousand two hundred and fourteen deals. Now the cards keep repeating themselves oftener and oftener. I must make two thousand seven hundred and four deals. You understand? Fifty-two times fifty-two. Then make all the deals over again thirteen times, according to the number of cards in each color. Thirty-five thousand, one hundred and fifty-two times. And repeat these deals four times according to the number of colors. One hundred and forty thousand six hundred and eight times."