three
o'clock in the morning
And , seizing a pencil that lay on the card-table , he signed four cheques of twenty-five thousand francs each . Unfortunately for him , the next hand was disastrous . The stakes were increased , and the bank was broken several times , when Paul Landry , profiting by a heavy gain , doubled and redoubled the preceding stakes , and beheld mounting before him a pile of cheques and counters . But , as often happens in such circumstances , his opponent , Henri de Prerolles , persisted in his vain battle against ill-luck , until at three o'clock in the morning , controlling his shaken nerves and throwing down his cards , without any apparent anger , he said : `` Will you tell me , gentlemen , how much I owe you ? '' After all accounts had been reckoned , he saw that he had lost two hundred and ninety thousand francs , of which two hundred and sixty thousand in cheques belonged to Paul Landry , and the thirty thousand francs ' balance to the bank . `` Monsieur de Prerolles , '' said Paul Landry , hypocritically , `` I am ashamed to win such a sum from you . If you wish to seek your revenge at some other game , I am entirely at your service . ''