it gives me the bellyache. And why do you pester me?" cried Granny. "I tell you I've no time to waste."
"It's here, Granny," I said; "it's here!"
We had reached the house where the bank was. I went in to change the notes; Granny was left waiting at the entrance; De Grieux, the General and Blanche stood apart waiting, not knowing what to do. Granny looked wrathfully at them, and they walked away in the direction of the Casino.
They offered me such ruinous terms that I did not accept them, and went back to Granny for instructions.
"Ah, the brigands!" she cried, flinging up her hands. "Well, never mind! Change it," she cried resolutely; "stay, call the banker out to me!"
"One of the clerks, Granny, do you mean?"
"Yes, a clerk, it's all the same. Ach, the brigands!"
The clerk consented to come when he learned that it was an invalid and aged countess, unable to come in, who was asking for him. Granny spent a long time loudly and angrily reproaching him for swindling her, and haggled with him in a mixture of Russian, French and German, while I came to the rescue in translating. The grave clerk listened to us in silence and shook his head. He looked at Granny with an intent stare that was hardly respectful; at last he began smiling.
"Well, get along with you," cried Granny. "Choke yourself with the money! Change it with him, Alexey Ivanovitch; there's no time to waste, or we would go elsewhere…"
"The clerk says that other banks give even less."
I don't remember the sums exactly, but the banker's charges were terrible. I received close upon twelve thousand florins in gold and notes, took the account and carried it to Granny.
"Well, well, well, it's no use counting it," she said, with a wave of her hand. "Make haste, make haste, make haste!"
"I'll never stake again on that damned zéro nor on the red either," she pronounced, as she was wheeled up to the Casino.
This time I did my very utmost to impress upon her the necessity of staking smaller sums, trying to persuade her that with the change of luck she would always be able to increase her stake. But she was so impatient that, though she agreed at first, it was impossible to restrain her when the play had begun; as soon as she had won a stake of ten, of twenty friedrichs d'ors———
"There, you see, there, you see,' she would begin nudging
