"Very good, then I will invest a thousand crowns in it."

"Whenever you please. If you call at my office you can choose the
numbers."

"No, I don't think I'll trouble to do so; give me any numbers just as
they come."

"Very good; here is the list you can choose from."

He chose numbers to the amount of three thousand francs, and then asked
me for a piece of paper to write an acknowledgment.

"Why so? I can't do business that way, as I only dispose of my tickets
for cash."

"But you may be certain that you will have the money to-morrow."

"I am quite sure I should, but you ought to be certain that you will have
the tickets to-morrow. They are registered at my office, and I can
dispose of them in no other manner."

"Give me some which are not registered."

"Impossible; I could not do it."

"Why not?"

"Because if they proved to be winning numbers I should have to pay out of