Hugh lowered his hand and Krantz went on with his urbane smile:
“You know I saved all your lives on one occasion. One of my gentle patriots wanted to put a charge of dynamite under your rooms and blow you to the stars. Fortunately I found out in time, and prevented it. After all it would have caused a great scandal. Violence and scandal we do not like; we want everything to run smoothly in this most favoured of spots. That’s what I’m here for,—to see that things run smoothly. That is why a moment ago you found me attempting the combination of that safe. And now having failed in my mission, I presume you will allow me to go.”
With that Krantz made a deep bow and passed from the room. Hugh stared after his retreating back as he leisurely descended the narrow stairway.
3.
Now that Hugh’s gambling fever had abated he found himself looking at the players with apathy, even with disgust. He was purged, not by loss, but by gain. The thought of the fifty thousand francs he had wrested from the bank was like honey to him. Never would he give them a chance to win it back. The Casino itself had also ceased to interest him. Incidents that had been at first exciting, now appeared monotonous. The human debris no longer fascinated him. The spectacle of the squirming, scrabbling mob bored him. The systematizers with their fatuous convictions aroused his contempt; the besotted votaries of the game, his pity. More than all he hated the careless rich who squandered in an idle hour what would have kept many a widow from misery and many an orphan from shame.
More than ever he thought of that little cottage at Villefranche, between the silent mountains and the dreamy sea; and of that Panhard he was going to buy at a bargain price. He confided his discontent to the professor.
“I’m getting awfully fed up with Monte. We can’t go on indefinitely. Isn’t it time that you speeded up the system a little?”
“You are right,” sighed the professor, “but it fatigues me so, and the atmosphere of the Rooms aggravates my catarrh. Why will you not play? You are well instructed now.”
“I don’t want to. As I said before, I don’t hate the Casino. While I wouldn’t move a finger to prevent their ruin, I wouldn’t go out of my way to accomplish it. Then again, if I played, I should want to play for myself, not for society. To hell with society! It never did anything for me. Up to now I’ve had to fight and struggle. It is by sheer luck that I’ve got a little working capital and I mean to make the most of it. I’m only a selfish practical individual. I’ve no consuming wish to benefit mankind, to do the ‘leave the world better than I found it,’ sort of thing. If ever I have enough to keep me in modest comfort, I’ll stop work and spend my time painting. No, I fear I’m no philanthropist.... How much do you want to win for your schemes before you proceed to give the Casino the final knock out?”
“Fifty million.”