“But she didn’t break the bank.” The lady cop sighed as she stared at the dying fire. “They never do, except in cheap fiction. Instead, she began to lose. She lost rapidly. Soon all her money was gone. Still the mad gambling craze was upon her. She borrowed and lost again. She offered her I.O.U. It was accepted. Once more she lost.
“At last she gave up in despair. Then the Oriental’s eyes became mere slits as he demanded:
“‘Pay.’
“‘But how am I to pay?’ she asked in despair.
“His slim brown finger pointed to the three rubies that gleamed like three red eyes at her throat.
“It was the first time she had thought of them for hours. Scarcely knowing what she did, she unhooked the chain and left the rubies as a pledge.
“There were other places to visit. There was dancing far into the night.
“She awoke at ten o’clock the next morning with a sense of guilt and fear. She thought of the pendant.
“In horror, she phoned her friends. They promised to go to the place and redeem the pledge.
“There was no longer such a place. In the night the gamblers had folded their tents like the Arabs and silently stolen away. They were in possession of a priceless bauble. They would make the most of it.