On a November day, a small Greek gambler plays a marble game in front of a hotel in a small town. He is known for having good luck with them machine and gaining a lot of money from it. He is someone who likes to play the game quickly and gets mad when people play slowly because they tend to beat him. The machine is called The Crusader, but no one knows it's actual name because they don't care to look. One day, a young man enters the small town and books a room in the hotel. No one recognizes the man, but he introduces himself as Jeff Logan. He watches the Greek and a man named Peterson play and Jeff Logan pays two dollars to join the game and gets the new high score. Jeff watches the two men try to beat his high score to no avail and decides to use his money to go to a nearby breakfast place called Omar Khayyam's. At the restaurant, Jeff sits and orders a cake and coffee. He recognizes the waitress as a German girl he once went to elementary school with, Mary Russek. He tells her that if he guesses her first and last name, he'll take her out for a movie. She doesn't believe that he will guess her name, but he does. She explains that she can't go out to the movies with him because she is married. However, Mary is also somewhat relieved that he recognizes her because not many people do. Jeff pays for his meal and then goes back outside to play the marble game. Mary thinks about the wall the hotel had to put up by The Crusader because those playing it were very loud and would disrupt the lobby guests. Mary thinks about how she can't remember who Jeff is. She also thinks about how much she loves her husband, Tom. Later on that day, Jeff decides to go back to Omar Khayyam's for dinner. Mary Russek had gone home for the day. He was very in love with her and her rejection makes him sad. The next morning, Jeff goes to eat breakfast at Hart's and hopes to see Mary again. He becomes conflicted because he loves her a lot, but also knows he shouldn't. Also, Jeff has a wife who he asked to stay home while going on his trip. The next day, Jeff goes to see the marble game again. Mary sees him and is surprised to see Jeff is still here because she thought he left town, since the grape farming season is over, and many farmers have left. One night, Jeff wakes up from his bed. The Greek and him play a game together and then others begin to watch. Every ten minutes, Jeff walks into the restaurant to get a drink and see the waitress. He loses a lot of money because of how drunk he is during the game. This happens for a few days. One day, Jeff hires a car and drives around before returning to play the marble game. During one of his restaurant visits while drunk, Jeff tells Mary that he remembers her and that he can survive with food and water, but that he really only wants her. Jeff stays in the hotel for five more days before leaving. Mary watches him each day until he leaves and feels much grief when she doesn't see him again, because now she also wants him.