a quarter past nine
Conceive such a frame of mind . That wonderful brain had failed to grasp the one simple glaring point of which his case consisted -- that Roulette is lawless . He failed to appreciate that he was up against Fortune herself . He could n't realise that because ' 7 ' had turned up seven times running at a quarter past nine , that was no earthly reason why ' 7 ' should n't turn up eight times running at a quarter past ten . Heaven knows what fun he got out of it . For me , the whole joy of the thing is that you 're flirting with Fate . '' He closed his eyes suddenly and flung back his head .