By six o'clock on the following evening, however, Sally had been forcedto the conclusion that Ginger would have to struggle through life asbest 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 ofan amiable 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 flaminghead shining 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 businessbut was 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 acertain altruism 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 ina cathedral 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. Moreglances of reproach were cast at Sally. It was generally felt that herinjudicious behaviour had changed Ginger's luck.
The only person who did not appear to be concerned was Ginger himself.He gathered up his loot, thrust it into his pocket, and elbowed hisway to where Sally stood, now definitely established in the eyes of thecrowd as a pariah. There was universal regret that he had decided tocall it a day. It was to the spectators as though a star had suddenlywalked off the stage in the middle of his big scene; and not even a loudand violent quarrel which sprang up at this moment between two excitablegamblers over a disputed five-franc counter could wholly console them.
"I say," said Ginger, dexterously plucking Sally out of the crowd,"this is topping, meeting you like this. I've been looking for youeverywhere."
"It's funny you didn't find me, then, for that's where I've been. I waslooking for you."
"No, really?" Ginger seemed pleased. He led the way to the quietante-room outside the gambling-hall, and they sat down in a corner.It was pleasant here, with nobody near except the gorgeously uniformedattendant over by the door. "That was awfully good of you."
"I felt I must have a talk with you before my train went."
Ginger started violently.
"Your train? What do you mean?"
"The puff-puff," explained Sally. "I'm leaving to-night, you know."
"Leaving?" Ginger looked as horrified as the devoutest of thecongregation of which Sally had just ceased to be a member. "You don'tmean leaving? You're not going away from Roville?"
"I'm afraid so."
"But why? Where are you going?"
"Back to America. My boat sails from Cherbourg tomorrow."
"Oh, my aunt!"
"I'm sorry," said Sally, touched by his concern. She was a warm-heartedgirl and liked being appreciated. "But..."
"I say..." Ginger Kemp turned bright scarlet and glared before him atthe uniformed official, who was regarding their tete-a-tete with theindulgent eye of one who has been through this sort of thing himself. "Isay, look here, will you marry me?"
2
The Adventures of Sally Page 10