Chapter 12

XII

The Grandmother was in an impatient, irritable frame of mind.
Without doubt the roulette had turned her head, for she
appeared to be indifferent to everything else, and, in
general, seemed much distraught. For instance, she asked me no
questions about objects en route, except that, when a
sumptuous barouche passed us and raised a cloud of dust, she
lifted her hand for a moment, and inquired, " What was that? "
Yet even then she did not appear to hear my reply, although at
times her abstraction was interrupted by sallies and fits of
sharp, impatient fidgeting. Again, when I pointed out to her
the Baron and Baroness Burmergelm walking to the Casino, she
merely looked at them in an absent-minded sort of way, and
said with complete indifference, "Ah!" Then, turning
sharply to Potapitch and Martha, who were walking behind us,
she rapped out:

"Why have YOU attached yourselves to the party? We are not
going to take you with us every time. Go home at once." Then,
when the servants had pulled hasty bows and departed, she
added to me: "You are all the escort I need."

At the Casino the Grandmother seemed to be expected, for no
time was lost in procuring her former place beside the
croupier. It is my opinion that though croupiers seem such
ordinary, humdrum officials--men who care nothing whether the
bank wins or loses--they are, in reality, anything but
indifferent to the bank's losing, and are given instructions
to attract players, and to keep a watch over the bank's
interests; as also, that for such services, these officials are
awarded prizes and premiums. At all events, the croupiers of
Roulettenberg seemed to look upon the Grandmother as their
lawful prey-- whereafter there befell what our party had
foretold.

It happened thus:

As soon as ever we arrived the Grandmother ordered me to stake
twelve ten-gulden pieces in succession upon zero. Once,
twice, and thrice I did so, yet zero never turned up.

"Stake again," said the old lady with an impatient nudge of my
elbow, and I obeyed.

"How many times have we lost? " she inquired--actually
grinding her teeth in her excitement.

"We have lost 144 ten-gulden pieces," I replied. "I tell you,
Madame, that zero may not turn up until nightfall."

"Never mind," she interrupted. "Keep on staking upon zero,
and also stake a thousand gulden upon rouge. Here is a
banknote with which to do so."

The red turned up, but zero missed again, and we only got our
thousand gulden back.

"But you see, you see " whispered the old lady. "We have now
recovered almost all that we staked. Try zero again. Let us do
so another ten times, and then leave off."

By the fifth round,