148 BROWN : 



clothes of time long ago both as to fancy and as to fact. I 

 explain myself. No one has, as I believe, ever questioned the 

 entire fairness and straightforwardness of the performance. 

 Up in a gallery, plain for all folk to see, sit thequeerly clothed 

 magnates. Before the eyes of all, ninety things supposed, and 

 doubtless correctly, to be the numbers are one by one put into 

 something like a small keg. When all are in — and those rea- 

 sonably near may count if they see fit — the keg is screwed up 

 tight by one magnate, who then hands it to another who 

 shakes violently, and hands it to another who shakes furi- 

 ously, and hands it to another who shakes thoroughly, and 

 hands it to another who courteously waives his right to shake 

 in order to cut short a series of shakes which might become 

 tedious. The keg is then set on a table and another magnate 

 solemnly opens the keg. Meanwhile an exiguous boy, known 

 like Alp, by the right arm bare, has been got ready. The boy 

 thrusts the bare arm into the keg, pulls out a number and 

 hands it to still another magnate, who partially unrolls it and 

 hands it to a final magnate, who completely unrolls it, dis- 

 plays emotion and hands it over to the capo lazzarone, who is 

 in waiting and has several thousand pairs of eyes and ears 

 intent upon him. There are no lazzaroni, have not been for 

 many years, as hinted above, but he is called capo lazzarone 

 all the same. The title is titular. He has, you see, by my 

 little device had time to take in upon himself the awful signi- 

 ficance of what is on the slip of paper, and he screams it out 

 with all his might, to the dismay or delight, according to cir- 

 cumstances, of those who hear him. 



This is repeated five times. 



One number is nothing. Two, as I think I remember, is 

 nothing. Three is several thousand per cent, profit. Four is 

 a small fortune, and five lowers the price of government secu- 

 rities. I used always to buy the same numbers — 3-1 1-37 — 

 and though I did not always go to the same place (there are 

 branch offices at every furlong) the men got to know me, and 

 would snigger and whisper, " Same old numbers." 



