“What if you lose?”
“I can’t. It isn’t conceivable.”
“In roulette it’s always the inconceivable that happens.”
“No, I’m quite convinced. Armed with this system, I am going to the Casino just as confidently as if I were going to draw money from the bank. Of course, I know it means patience, watching, walking miles between tables; but that will be fun. I don’t want to win too easily.”
He continued to pore over his records, and she went softly about her work. When she had finished she looked toward him. In the shaded lamp-light his face was joyously eager; he was tapping his white teeth with his pencil, and his eyes were absorbed.
“Good-night,” she said timidly.
“Good-night,” he answered absently, without looking up.
2.
He worked very late over his permanencies and awoke to bright sunshine, and the fragrance of fresh coffee.
He had divided the room in two by a heavy green curtain. The part with the door and the little cabinet de cuisine was the living part; the other was for sleeping. This he had divided still further by a grey curtain so that they each had a little compartment with a bed. The girl seemed doubtful of this arrangement at first.