By six o'clock on the following evening, however. Sally had beenforced to the conclusion that Ginger would have to struggle through lifeas best he could without the assistance of her contemplated remarks: forshe had seen nothing of him all day and in another hour she would haveleft Roville on the seven-fifteen express which was to take her toParis, en route for Cherbourg and the liner whereon she had booked herpassage for New York.

　　It was in the faint hope of finding him even now that, at half-past six,having conveyed her baggage to the station and left it in charge of anamiable porter, she paid a last visit to the Casino Municipale. Shedisliked the thought of leaving Ginger without having uplifted him. Likeso many alert and active-minded girls, she possessed in a great degreethe quality of interesting herself in--or, as her brother Fillmorepreferred to put it, messing about with--the private affairs of others.

　　Ginger had impressed her as a man to whom it was worth while to give afriendly shove on the right path; and it was with much gratification,therefore, that, having entered the Casino, she perceived a flaming headshining through the crowd which had gathered at one of theroulette-tables.

　　There are two Casinos at Roville-sur-Mer. The one on the Promenade goesin mostly for sea-air and a mild game called boule. It is the big CasinoMunicipale down in the Palace Massena near the railway station which isthe haunt of the earnest gambler who means business; and it was plain toSally directly she arrived that Ginger Kemp not only meant business butwas getting results. Ginger was going extremely strong. He wasentrenched behind an opulent-looking mound of square counters: and, evenas Sally looked, a wooden-faced croupier shoved a further instalmentacross the table to him at the end of his long rake.

　　"Epatant!" murmured a wistful man at Sally's side, removing an elbowfrom her ribs in order the better to gesticulate Sally, though no Frenchscholar, gathered that he was startled and gratified. The entire crowdseemed to be startled and gratified. There is undoubtedly a certainaltruism in the make-up of the spectators at a Continentalroulette-table. They seem to derive a spiritual pleasure from seeingsomebody else win.

　　The croupier gave his moustache a twist with his left hand and the wheela twist with his right, and silence fell again. Sally, who had shiftedto a spot where the pressure of the crowd was less acute, was now ableto see Ginger's face, and as she saw it she gave an involuntary laugh.

　　He looked exactly like a dog at a rat-hole. His hair seemed to bristlewith excitement. One could almost fancy that his ears were pricked up.

　　In the tense hush which had fallen on the crowd at the restarting of thewheel, Sally's laugh rang out with an embarrassing clearness. It had amarked effect on all those within hearing. There is something almost ofreligious ecstasy in the deportment of the spectators at a table whereanyone is having a run of luck at roulette, and if she had guffawed in acathedral she could not have caused a more pained consternation. Theearnest worshippers gazed at her with shocked eyes, and Ginger, turningwith a start, saw her and jumped up. As he did so, the ball fell with arattling click into a red compartment of the wheel; and, as it ceased torevolve and it was seen that at last the big winner had picked the wrongcolour, a shuddering groan ran through the congregation like that whichconvulses the penitents' bench at a negro revival meeting. More glancesof reproach were cast at Sally. It was generally felt that herinjudicious behaviour had changed Ginger's luck.