ten o'clock
That would be dangerous , as all are aware . On the table , close to his right elbow , rests a double-barrelled pistol , both barrels of which are loaded . And though no one takes particular notice of it , any more than it were a pair of snuffers on their tray , or one of the ordinary implements of the game , most know well enough that he who keeps this standing symbol of menace before their eyes is prepared to use it on slight provocation . It is ten o'clock , and the bank is in full blast . Up to this hour the players in one thin row around the tables were staking only a few dollars at a time -- as skirmishers in advance of the main army , firing stray shots from pieces of light calibre . Now the heavy artillery has come up , the ranks are filled , and the files become doubled around the different tables -- two circles of players , in places three , engaging in the game . And instead of silver dollars , gold eagles and doubloons -- the last being the great guns -- are flung down upon the green baize , with a rattle continuous as the firing of musketry .