520
PARTISAN REVIEW
"Screeno1Screeno l"
A silence fell upon all, and all turned backward LO look for
the author of the impassioned outcry.
"Screeno!" came the voice again, this time nearer, as the
new winner approached the stairs from the balcony LO the
orchestra. The young assistant manager and the ushers looked at
each other in dismay. Something had obviously gone wrong, for
usually no one won the jackpot; two winners was inconceivable
and would lead to bankruptcy. Someone was going to lose his
job because of this.
In
a moment, the new winner was on the stage. He was a
small and slight old man, carrying a violin case and wearing
glasses.
In
his unpressed black suit, he looked very much like a
waiter in a cheap restaurant. He was completely out of breath,
completely beside himself. An usher LOok his card from his
quavering hand and began to check it with the numbers on the
blackboard. The young assistant manager came over to superin–
tend the checking, obviously hoping for some mistake. Mean–
while, Cornelius stood by suddenly ignored, having nothing to
do. He had not yet been given his money, but was blissful with
ideas of its expenditure.
"If
the manager loses all this money," said one usher to
another, "it will be the biggest collapse since the Fall of the
Hapsburgs."
"My name is Casper Weingarten," said the old man, un–
asked, intruding himself upon the huddle of the assistant
manager and the ushers. He was very nervous, very excited. "I
am a musician," he said, but no one paid any attention LO him,
except Cornelius.
And then the young assistant manager came over to the old
man and holding the card up showed him that he had not won,
that he had mistaken a seven for a one because the print had been
on the left-hand side. "Perhaps you'll win one of the other
prizes," he said, courteously, "since you already have four
numbers in a row."
"You mean I don ' t win?" said the old man. "Why not?" he
said, having understood nothing of the explanation. His mis–
take was explained again, while he stared at his card.
"Nol" he said loudly. "This is a one, not a seven. I win.
