midnight
Then the speed slackened , the ball seemed to hesitate and waver like a sentient thing making choice ; there was the light click of the drop ; the `` bank '' had won . After that the white hand played with varying luck , sometimes winning , sometimes losing . The other players began staking on their own account again . And then , some time after midnight , de Lys began losing , as persistently , as uninterruptedly as he had won . He played as deliberately as before , with a something more of calculating intentness , but the charm was broken ; the wheel seemed to whirl with an intelligent revolt . Just as surely as the white hand placed a coin upon the black , the red had it ; just as certainly as the diamonds flashed above the red , the ball found its way into the black . The handsome face grew slightly strained and eager -- so slightly that the change would have escaped the ordinary observer .