the croupier smiled at him and at his deliberation , went through the legerdemain that would in due course bring the red stop card into the tongue of the shoe and stop the game just seven cards before the end of the shoe , packed the long block of cards into the shoe , slid in the metal tongue that held them prisoner and announced , loud and clear : 'messieurs [ the 'mesdames ' are traditionally not mentioned ; since victorian days it has been assumed that ladies do not gamble ] , les jeux sont fails .