So poor "Ami Fritz" was not allowed
to gamble unless his wife were there to see that he did not go too far.
No wonder he had looked impatient and eager, as well as cross! He had
been engaged--that was clear--in putting down the turns of the game, and
in working out what were no doubt abstruse calculations connected with
his system.
The Club was very full, and it was a little difficult at that hour of the
late afternoon to get near enough to a table to play comfortably; but a
stranger had kindly kept Anna Wolsky's place for her.
"I have been quite lucky," she whispered to Sylvia. "I have made three
hundred francs, and now I think I will rest a bit! Slip in here, dear,
and I will stand behind you. I do not advise you to risk more than twenty
francs the first time; on the other hand, if you feel _en veine_, if the
luck seems persistent--it sometimes is when one first plays with
gold--then be bold, and do not hesitate!"
Sylvia, feeling rather bewildered, slipped into her friend's place, and
Anna kept close behind her.
With a hand that trembled a little, she put a twenty-franc piece down on
the green table.
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