What avail! Garnett was
at Castlegarry, and at midnight his chance of fortune and a new life
would be gone. Then, penniless, he would have to face Mona again; and
what would come of that he could not see, would not try to see. There
was an alternative he would not attempt to face until after midnight,
when this crisis in his life would be over. Beyond midnight was a
darkness which he would not now try to pierce. As his eyes again became
used to his surroundings, a look of determination, the determination of
the true gambler, came into his face. The real gambler never throws up
the sponge till all is gone; never gives up till after the last toss of
the last penny of cash or credit; for he has seen such innumerable times
the thing come right and good fortune extend a friendly hand with the
last hazard of all.
Suddenly he remembered--saw--a scene in the gambling rooms at Monte Carlo
on the only visit he had ever paid to the place. He had played
constantly, and had won more or less each day. Then his fortune turned
and he lost and lost each day. At last, one evening, he walked up to a
table and said to the croupier, "When was zero up last?" The croupier
answered, "Not for an hour." Forthwith he began to stake on zero and on
nothing else.
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