"'My dear Edmond,' he said to me, 'a man accused me of cheating. I challenged him--we fought with pistols--and his bullet is lodged in my chest.'
"And when I urged Zilbermann to let me attend to him, he added:
"'It is useless, my friend. I feel I am wounded to death. I have hardly time to make a confession, for which I claim all your indulgent friendship. Learn, then,' he added, offering me a hand damp with death, 'I was not unjustly insulted. I am ashamed to confess that, for a long time, I have lived at the expense of my dupes. Aided by a fatal skill, and still more by an instrument I invented, I daily cheated at play.'
"'How--you, Zilbermann?' I said, withdrawing my hand sharply.
"'Yes, I!' the dying man replied, seeming by a glance to supplicate my mercy.
"'Edmond!' he added, collecting all his remaining strength, 'in the name of our old friendship do not abandon me! For the honor of my family, let not this proof of my infamy be found here. I implore you to remove this instrument.' And he showed me a small box attached to his arm.
"I unfastened it, and like yourself, my boy, looked at it, without understanding its use. Revived by a thought of his culpable passion, Zilbermann added, with the most lively admiration,
"'And yet see how ingenious it was. This box can be attached to the arm without perceptibly increasing its size. Ready packed cards are put in it beforehand; when you are going to cut, you put your hand quietly over the cards on the table, so as to cover them completely; then you press this spring by resting your arm gently on the table. The prepared cards come out while a pair of pincers seize the other pack and draw it up into the box. To-day, for the first time, the instrument failed me--the pincers left a card on the table. My adversary----'
"Zilbermann could not complete the phrase; he had drawn his last gasp.
"Zilbermann's confessions and death had overpowered me, and I hastened from his room. On returning home, I began to reflect on what had happened, and, imagining that my known intimacy with the deceased would forbid my stay at Florence, I determined on proceeding to Naples. I took with me the unlucky box, though not foreseeing the use I should eventually make of it; and for a long time I forgot its existence. However, when I turned my attention to conjuring, I thought about my piquet trick, and the fortunate use I made of the box gained me one of my most remarkable triumphs as professor of sleight-of-hand."