03-01-07-神秘及幻想故事集 [14]
．I was able to live a fashionable， expensive life， and to choose as my friends the sons of the richest families of England．There was nothing at all to stop me now．I spent my money wildly， and passed my days and nights in dangerous and exciting pleasures． At Oxford I spent a lot of my time gambling．I became，in fact，a most clever and successful gambler-no better than a thief．I played cards in order to win money from the other students and become even richer．Of course， I was careful to play only with students who were bad at playing cards．In this way I could be sure of winning every time．My friends were not clever enough to see what I was doing．
In my second year at University I met a new student called Glendinning．He came from an old English family and was one of the richest students in the university．I soon realized that he was very unintelligent and because of this he was，of course，a very suitable person for me to gamble with！I started to play cards with him often，and for some time I made sure that he always won.
At last I decided that the time was right and I made my plans carefully．I met Glendinning at the rooms of a friend of mine，a Mr．Preston（who had no idea of my secret plan）．Eight or ten other friends were also invited．In this way Glendinning had no idea that I planned to gamble with him that evening．In fact，at the party，it was he who first suggested playing cards.
We played for many long hours．In the end，by my careful plan，I was playing alone against Glendinning，while the others watched our game．Glendinning had drunk a lot of wine during the evening and his hands were beginning to shake a little-from fear or from the wine，I wasn't sure．He had already lost a large amount of money．Then he did what I had hoped for．He took another long drink of wine and said， ‘Let's double the stakes.’Beginners always think they can win back what they have lost in this way.
At first I pretended to refuse．Then he became angry，so，naturally，I had to agree．My plan was working excellently．We continued playing，and in less than an hour my winnings were four times as big．Glendinning's face was now as white as a sheet．Everyone around the table started talking， and to my surprise I heard the words，‘That's the end of Glendinning．He's just lost everything he had！’
I had heard that Glendinning was very rich indeed-rich enough to lose a lot of money and not to worry about it．Now，I understood from the whispers around the table，that this was not true．I had，in fact，won everything he owned，and so destroyed him．Nobody spoke．Glendinning had covered his face with his hands and everyone clearly felt very sorry for him．Even I began to feel a little worried，and wondered what I should do.
As we stood in silence，the doors suddenly opened and a strong wind filled the room．It blew out all the candles in the room and we were left in darkness．But in the few seconds before the candles went out，we noticed that a man had entered the room．He was about as tall as I was，and his face and body were hidden by a long cloak．As we stood in the darkness，we could feel him standing in the room．
Then he began to speak．He spoke in a whisper，and his voice filled me with fear．‘Gentlemen，’he said.‘I am here because I have something important to tell you．I am afraid that you do not really know the man who has just won so much money from Glendinning．Let me tell you how to learn more about him．Please look very carefully inside his left sleeve and at the several little packets inside the large pockets of his jacket．’Immediately after these words he left the room，as silently as he had entered it.
That moment was one of the worst moments of my life．I had no time to do anything．My friends fell on me angrily，lit the candles again，and searched my clothes．They found the single cards hidden carefully inside my left sleeve，and in my pockets they discovered the packets of special cards which helped me to win every game I played．
My friends stood around me in a circle and looked at me in silence．Mr．Preston then picked up a cloak from the floor．‘Mr．Wilson，’he said．‘Here is your cloak
In my second year at University I met a new student called Glendinning．He came from an old English family and was one of the richest students in the university．I soon realized that he was very unintelligent and because of this he was，of course，a very suitable person for me to gamble with！I started to play cards with him often，and for some time I made sure that he always won.
At last I decided that the time was right and I made my plans carefully．I met Glendinning at the rooms of a friend of mine，a Mr．Preston（who had no idea of my secret plan）．Eight or ten other friends were also invited．In this way Glendinning had no idea that I planned to gamble with him that evening．In fact，at the party，it was he who first suggested playing cards.
We played for many long hours．In the end，by my careful plan，I was playing alone against Glendinning，while the others watched our game．Glendinning had drunk a lot of wine during the evening and his hands were beginning to shake a little-from fear or from the wine，I wasn't sure．He had already lost a large amount of money．Then he did what I had hoped for．He took another long drink of wine and said， ‘Let's double the stakes.’Beginners always think they can win back what they have lost in this way.
At first I pretended to refuse．Then he became angry，so，naturally，I had to agree．My plan was working excellently．We continued playing，and in less than an hour my winnings were four times as big．Glendinning's face was now as white as a sheet．Everyone around the table started talking， and to my surprise I heard the words，‘That's the end of Glendinning．He's just lost everything he had！’
I had heard that Glendinning was very rich indeed-rich enough to lose a lot of money and not to worry about it．Now，I understood from the whispers around the table，that this was not true．I had，in fact，won everything he owned，and so destroyed him．Nobody spoke．Glendinning had covered his face with his hands and everyone clearly felt very sorry for him．Even I began to feel a little worried，and wondered what I should do.
As we stood in silence，the doors suddenly opened and a strong wind filled the room．It blew out all the candles in the room and we were left in darkness．But in the few seconds before the candles went out，we noticed that a man had entered the room．He was about as tall as I was，and his face and body were hidden by a long cloak．As we stood in the darkness，we could feel him standing in the room．
Then he began to speak．He spoke in a whisper，and his voice filled me with fear．‘Gentlemen，’he said.‘I am here because I have something important to tell you．I am afraid that you do not really know the man who has just won so much money from Glendinning．Let me tell you how to learn more about him．Please look very carefully inside his left sleeve and at the several little packets inside the large pockets of his jacket．’Immediately after these words he left the room，as silently as he had entered it.
That moment was one of the worst moments of my life．I had no time to do anything．My friends fell on me angrily，lit the candles again，and searched my clothes．They found the single cards hidden carefully inside my left sleeve，and in my pockets they discovered the packets of special cards which helped me to win every game I played．
My friends stood around me in a circle and looked at me in silence．Mr．Preston then picked up a cloak from the floor．‘Mr．Wilson，’he said．‘Here is your cloak