Page:Robert Barr - Lord Stranleigh Philanthropist.djvu/329

 us. Venture any sum you like, and I'll cover it. We each lift a pile of cards from the top, and the man with the highest card takes the lucre. Then the man who loses puts up enough to cover the united stakes. Some outsider shuffles the pack, and the game thus proceeds until one or the other of us is cleaned out."

"Agreed," said the Lieutenant, placing on the table a hundred and twenty-five thousand francs in French bank-notes. Stranleigh took out a pocket-book, and selected five Bank of England notes for a thousand pounds each, throwing them down. The Lieutenant pulled a three of spades, and Stranleigh a queen of hearts. The money passed over to his lordship's side.

"Ten thousand pounds. Lieutenant."

The Lieutenant compressed his lips, but produced the amount. This time he drew an ace, and Stranleigh a king, and twenty thousand pounds lay heaped before the officer. Stranleigh calmly put down twenty Bank of England notes, and won.

"Damn it all!" cried the Lieutenant. "I don't carry the Bank of France in my pocket. Will you accept my I.O.U.?"

"No," laughed Stranleigh. "I belong to a country of tradesmen, and like to do business on a cash basis. But fortunately the day is early.