The desire to gamble seems hereditary with Vance Thomas. At twenty-five he was a confirmed gambler and the exact antithesis of his best friend, Walter Boynton, who was a steady, reliable young man. Both men were rivals for the hand of Roberta Daly. Vance had been found short in several gambling deals and he went to his friend Walter for a loan. Waller gladly loaned him the money, but remonstrated with him and tried to win him away from that sort of life. The two urged the girl to make a definite decision and luck favored the gambler. While she believes Walter would make an ideal husband, she fears that they would soon tire of each other because of his regular habits. Few gamblers reform by marrying, however, and Vance graduated from petty gambling to a higher class of finance. His father had remonstrated with him several times for drawing against the former’s account and threatened the boy with legal punishment the next time the occasion should arise. Vance had what he considered a “sure tip” one day, and gambles on fluctuating stock. The result is that he draws on his father. The stock takes a downward trend and he goes broke. That night he disappears. Near the river hank they find a note, and the clothes he had worn. This was a blind, however, for after changing his clothes he slipped away and went west. The years rolled by. Vance’s supposed death was almost forgotten. Roberta had begun to depend on Walter more and more, when the years slipped by, cheating him of happiness. This is forcibly brought to her notice one day when she sees that Walter is beginning to grow gray. She finally consents to his pleadings and plans a hasty wedding. Vance Thomas had done better in his change of location and has quite a bit of money. He determines to run back to his home town, and look about. He arrives on the night of the wedding, and as he wanders through the garden grounds he sees Walter and Roberta about to be married. He hesitates whether to go forward and disclose his identity and finally decides to make it a gamble. He throws dice to see whether he should go and disclose himself or return from the scene. Fate is against him and he abides by the decision. This time the river is not cheated of its prey and all that is left of the gambler is a few ripples which gradually fade away.