his heartbeats were fast and irregular. all of a sudden his face beamed like a new flower blooming in reason. in order not to let his friends notice any strangeness in his behavior, he rejoined them at the table and resumed drinking his beer. time passed and the turning of the wheels to find the last prize came to an end. the crowed dispersed and people returned to their respective lodgings. the revving of the motorcycle engines, small and big, mixed with the buzzing complaints expressing regret at not winning the prize. some people bought up to two or three hundred tickets but none pf them came close to the winning numbers. so their heads drooped. some were more lucky and won the two and three digit prizes.