<P> Hermann, an ethnic German, is an officer of the engineers in the Imperial Russian Army . He constantly watches the other officers gamble, but never plays himself . One night, Tomsky tells a story about his grandmother, an elderly countess . Many years ago, in France, she lost a fortune at cards, and then won it back with the secret of the three winning cards, which she learned from the notorious Count of St. Germain . Hermann becomes obsessed with obtaining the secret . </P> <P> The countess (who is now 87 years old) has a young ward, Lizavyeta Ivanovna . Hermann sends love letters to Lizavyeta, and persuades her to let him into the house . There Hermann accosts the countess, demanding the secret . She first tells him that story was a joke, but Hermann refuses to believe her . He repeats his demands, but she does not speak . He draws a pistol and threatens her, and the old lady dies of fright . Hermann then flees to the apartment of Lizavyeta in the same building . There he confesses to have killed the countess by fright with his pistol . He defends himself by saying that the pistol was not loaded . He escapes from the house with the aid of Lizavyeta, who is disgusted to learn that his professions of love were a mask for greed . </P> <P> Hermann attends the funeral of the countess, and is terrified to see the countess open her eyes in the coffin and look at him . Later that night, the ghost of the countess appears . The ghost names the secret three cards (three, seven, ace), tells him he must play just once each night and then orders him to marry Lizavyeta . Hermann takes his entire savings to Chekalinsky's salon, where wealthy men gamble for high stakes . On the first night, he bets it all on the three and wins . On the second night, he wins on the seven . On the third night, he bets on the ace--but when cards are shown, he finds he has bet on the Queen of Spades, rather than the ace, and loses everything . When the Queen appears to wink at him, he is astonished by her remarkable resemblance to the old countess, and flees in terror . In a short conclusion, Pushkin writes that Lizavyeta marries the son of the Countess' former steward, a state official who makes a good salary . Hermann, however, goes mad and is committed to an asylum . He is installed in Room 17 at the Obuhov hospital; he answers no questions, but merely mutters with unusual rapidity: "Three, seven, ace! Three, seven, queen!" </P> <P> The character of the old countess was inspired by Princess Natalya Petrovna Galitzine (Princesse Moustache) who served as the lady - in - waiting for 5 Russian emperors and was 92 at the time Pushkin wrote "The Queen of Spades". According to legend, Galitzine had been a successful gambler . When her grandson lost a considerable amount of money playing cards and came to her to beg her for money, Galitzine instead revealed to him the secret three cards that Count Saint - Germain showed to her in Paris . </P>

What happens to hermann at the end of the story