Colonel Thorndyke's Secret

by G. A. Henty

  CHAPTER XIII.

  The next morning, before going round to Gibbons', Mark saw his chief andtold him of what had taken place on the previous evening.

  "I certainly did not think that you would succeed so soon; you believethat you will be able fairly to expose these fellows?"

  "I have no doubt whatever that I shall be able to expose one of them;and I have equally no doubt that if the others are arrested, eitherfalse cards or pockets for cards will be found upon them. What do youwish me to do, sir? I can, of course, expose any fellow I catch at it,but can do nothing about the others."

  "I must have more than one captured," the chief said. "At even the mostirreproachable club there may be one blackleg, but if it is clear thatthis place is the haunt of blacklegs we can break it. There are half adozen Acts that apply; there is the 11th Act of Henry VIII, statute 33,cap. 9, which prohibits the keeping of any common house for dice, cards,or any unlawful game. That has never been repealed, except that gaminghouses were licensed in 1620. What is more to the point is thatfive Acts of George II, the 9th, 12th, 13th, 18th, and 30th, imposepenalties upon the keepers of public houses for permitting gambling, andlay heavy penalties upon hazard, roulette, and other gambling games, onthe keepers of gambling houses and those who play there. Having receivedcomplaints of several young men being rooked in the place, we can, ifwe prove that some of its frequenters are blacklegs, shut the place upaltogether. We should do it quietly, and without fuss, if possible;but if we shut it up several others of the same sort will be certain toclose their doors. But mind, there will probably be a desperate row, andyou had better take pistols with you. I will have four men close athand from ten o'clock till the time the place closes, and if they hear ascrimmage, or you fire a pistol out of the window, they will rush in andseize all engaged in the row, and march them to the lock up. Of courseyou will have to be included."

  Mark then went to Chetwynd.

  "Well, what did you think of it last night?"

  "Well, I own that it went against my grain to see that young fellowbeing victimized by a sharper."

  "My dear Mark, you must not use such language as that. I fancy fromwhat I have heard that the Honorable John is not altogether an estimablecharacter, but to call him a sharper is going too far altogether."

  "I don't think that it is, for from what I saw last night I am prettywell convinced that he did not play fair. I mean to go again tonight."

  "But why on earth should you mix yourself up in such an affair, Mark? Itis no business of yours; you are not an habitue of the place. Aboveall, it is extremely unlikely that you are right. There were someshady people there, no doubt, but there were also a good many gentlemenpresent, and as you know nothing of cards, as far as I know, it is themost unlikely thing in the world that you should find out that Emersoncheated when no one else noticed it."

  "It is my business; it is the duty of every honest man to see that apoor lad like that should not be eaten up by a shark like Emerson. Idon't care if there is a shindy over it. I shall not interfere unless Ican prove that the man is cheating, in which case no man of honor wouldgo out with him. I shall be glad if you and Boldero would go with meagain this evening. I am not known there, and you are to a good manymen, and Boldero to many more. I only want that, if I get into a row,you should testify to the fact that I am a gentleman, and ordinarilysane. If there is a row you will have an opportunity of seeing how muchI have benefited by my lessons."

  "Yes, I heard you were making tremendous progress. Jack Needham toldme a month ago that you had knocked him out of time, and I went intoGibbons' yesterday morning with a man who wanted to buy a dog, and hetold me that he considered that it was a great misfortune that you werean amateur, for that you only required another six months' practice, andhe would then be ready to back you for a hundred pounds against any manin the ring. But about this affair, Mark. Are you really in earnest?"

  "I am, Dick, thoroughly in earnest; so would you be if you had spokento Cotter last night, as I did. I tell you that if I had not given him alittle hope that the thing might come out right, he would have blown outhis brains today."

  "Well, Mark, if you have set your mind on it, of course I will stick toyou, though I have some doubts whether Cotter has any brains to speakof to blow out, else he would not be mad enough to back himself againstEmerson and other men whom Boldero tells me he has been playing with."

  "He has made an ass of himself, no doubt, Dick; but I fancy a goodmany fellows do that at one time or other of their lives, though not, Igrant, always in the same way."

  "Well, I will go, Mark. I need not ask Boldero, for he told me that heshould look in again at ten o'clock this evening, for he thought thatanother night's play would probably bring Cotter to the end of histether."

  Accordingly a little before ten they walked into the gambling housetogether.

  "Now, Dick, I want you, as soon as you sit down, to take your place inthe front line within a yard or two of Emerson. I don't want you to bejust behind him, but a short distance away; and I want you to keep youreye upon Sir James Flash, who, if I am not mistaken, will take up thesame position that he did last night, near enough to Cotter to seehis hand. You will remark, I have no doubt, as I did last night, thatwhenever Cotter has a bad hand, Flash will either close his eyes, or puthis hand up to his mouth and stroke his mustache, or make some sign ofthat sort. When Cotter has a good hand he will stand perfectly still orlook about the room. At any rate, he will make no sign--that, of course,is a guide to Emerson whether to propose or to refuse to allow Cotterto do so. I need not point out to you what a tremendous advantagethe knowledge whether an opponent's hand is good or not gives him. Ofcourse, while watching an hour's play I can only know that Flash wasmaking signs, and that when he did so Cotter's hand was a bad one. It ispossible that the manner in which the sign was made, either by closinghis eye or twisting his mustache, or so on, may have been an intimationas to the suit in which Cotter was strongest or weakest."

  "By Jove, this is a serious thing, Mark."

  "It is a serious thing. I don't want you to get into a row with thefellow. I should like you to give me a nod when you have satisfiedyourself that I was not mistaken. I will take upon myself to denouncethe fellow, and to say what I noticed yesterday and you can back me upby saying that you saw the same thing. I have no doubt that I shall beable to convince every decent man there that my charge is well founded.I am going to watch Emerson. With the help he gets from Flash, he won'trisk anything by cheating until it comes to a big stake like the lastgame yesterday, in which case, if Cotter's hand happens to be a strongone, he is likely to do so, and I fancy if he does I shall be able tocatch him at it. You had better keep Boldero near you. You can whisperto him what you are watching Flash for, and get him to do so too; as,if I catch Emerson cheating, there is likely to be a row; he can lenda hand if necessary, and, at any rate, his joining in with you willsuffice to show his friends that the thing is genuine."

  "All right, Mark. I am interested in the matter now, and am ready foranything."

  Soon after ten Cotter and Emerson again sat down, and, as usual, a lotof spectators gathered round the table. The game resembled the one onthe previous evening. Mark placed himself' by the side of Cotter, astranger stood immediately behind his chair, another member of the clubwas on the other side, and Sir James Flash stood partly behind him, sothat although somewhat in the background he could obtain a view betweentheir heads of Cotter's cards. Mark saw to his satisfaction that Dickand Boldero had secured the exact position that he wished them to take.For the first few games the play was even, and Dick began to think thatMark had been mistaken, for Flash appeared to take little interest inthe game, and made no sign how Emerson should proceed.

  As soon as the stake rose to a hundred again he distinctly saw Flashclose his eyes and play with his mustache; he called Boldero's attentionto the fact, and found the latter, who had also been watching, hadnoticed it. By the time a few games had been played he verified Mark'sassertion that these signs
were signals that Cotter's hand was a badone, and in each case Emerson played without giving his opponent theopportunity of discarding and taking in fresh cards. He and Dick noddedquietly to Mark, who had satisfied himself that so far Emerson had notcheated in any other way. As on the previous evening, Cotter, afterlosing five or six hundred pounds, proposed a final game of fivehundred. Mark bent down his head, so that the intentness of his gazeshould not be noticed, but from under his eyebrows he watched Emerson'severy movement; suddenly he placed a foot on the edge of the chair ofthe man sitting in front of him, and with a sudden spring leaped uponthe table, seized Emerson's hand, and held it up to the full length ofhis arm.

  "Gentlemen," he shouted, "this fellow is cheating; there is a card inhis hand which he has just brought from under the table."

  In a moment there was a dead silence of surprise; then Mark forced thehand open and took Emerson's card, which he held up.

  "There, you see, gentleman; it is a king."

  Then a Babel of sounds arose, a dozen hands were laid upon Emerson, whowas pulled back from his chair and thrown down on a sofa, while handswere run over his coat, waistcoat, and breeches.

  "Here they are!" a man shouted, and held a dozen cards over his head.

  The place of concealment had been cleverly chosen; the breechesapparently buttoned closely at the knee, but in reality they were looseenough to enable a finger and thumb to be passed between them and thestocking, and in the lining of the breeches was a pocket in which thecards had been placed, being held there by two pieces of whalebone, thatclosed the pocket. The searchers, among whom were Dick and Boldero, didnot have it all their own way; four or five men rushed upon them, andendeavored to pull them off Emerson. The din of voices was prodigious,but Mark, still standing on the table, stilled it for a moment byshouting:

  "The scoundrel has an accomplice, who this evening and yesterday hasbeen signaling the strength of the cards in Mr. Cotter's hands."

  "Who is he?" was shouted over the room.

  "It is Sir James Flash," Mark said. "I denounce him as a cheat and asharper."

  As pale as death, Flash rushed to the table.

  "I don't know who you are, sir," he said, in a tone of concentratedrage, "but you are a liar, and you shall answer for this in themorning."

  "I will answer to any gentleman that calls me to account," Mark said,in a ringing voice, "but I don't meet a man who has been expelled fromWhite's for cheating, and who I have no doubt is well stocked with cardsat the present moment, in readiness for the victim that he is next goingto meet after the plucking of Mr. Cotter has been done. Now, gentlemen,search him and see if I am wrong; if I am I will apologize for that partof my accusation."

  Flash drew a pistol from his pocket, but in an instant his arm wasseized by those standing round him, and it exploded harmlessly. Amongthose who seized Flash was the man who had played with him the previousevening. In spite of his struggles and curses, and the efforts of hisfriends to rescue him, he too was thrown down and eight court cards werefound concealed in his sleeve. The uproar while this was going on hadbeen tremendous, but it was suddenly stilled as four men in dark clothesentered the room. Each held in his hand the well known symbol of hisoffice, the little ebony staff surmounted by a silver crown.

  "I arrest all present in the name of the king," one said, "for breakingthe laws against gambling, and for brawling and the use of firearms.Now, gentlemen, resistance is useless; I must request that you each giveme your card, and your word of honor that you will appear at Bow Streettomorrow morning."

  "What is all this about, sir?" he asked Mark, who was still standing onthe table.

  "Two fellows here have been caught cheating."

  "What is your name and address, sir?"

  "My name is Mark Thorndyke, and I am a landed gentleman at Reigate; myfriends Mr. Chetwynd and Mr. Boldero will bear this out."

  "Who are the two men?" the constable asked.

  "The two fellows with torn clothes," Mark said. "They are Mr. Emersonand Sir James Flash."

  "You are certain of the charge that you are making?"

  "Quite certain; the cards have been found hidden upon them."

  "Yes, yes!" a score of voices shouted; "they have been caught in the actof cheating."

  "Take those two men into custody," the constable said to two of hiscompanions.

  "Who fired that pistol?" he went on.

  A number of voices shouted:

  "Sir James Flash; he attempted to murder Mr. Thorndyke."

  The constable nodded to the man who had laid his hands on Sir JamesFlash, and in a moment a pair of handcuffs closed on his wrists.

  "You shall repent this!" Flash exclaimed furiously.

  "Calm yourself, Sir James," the constable said calmly. "We know ourduty, and do it whether a man is a peer or a peasant; you are accused ofcard sharping and an attempted murder."

  "What is your address in town, Mr. Thorndyke?" he asked.

  "18 Villiers Street."

  "Is there any charge against anyone else here? A good many of you seemto have your clothes torn and disarranged."

  "Some fellows attempted to rescue Emerson and Flash while we weresearching them; for what reason we can all pretty well imagine."

  "I shall require the names in the morning of your assailants," theconstable said; "it looks very much as if they were confederates of thetwo prisoners. Now, gentlemen, you can all leave. This house isclosed, and will not be opened again until this affair is thoroughlyinvestigated."

  In five minutes the house was deserted.

  "How can I thank you, Mr. Thorndyke?" Cotter, who was one of those whohad seized Flash's arm, diverted his aim and searched him, said, whenthey got outside the house. "You have saved my life. It did not seempossible to me that you could succeed in showing that I was beingcheated, and I had firmly resolved that, instead of allowing you tosuffer loss, I would tomorrow morning make a clean breast of the wholeaffair to my father, as I had intended to have done this morning."

  "If I might advise you, Mr. Cotter, I should say, carry out yourintention as far as making a clean breast of it is concerned. Happily,you are free from debt, as those IOUs are worthless, for they wereobtained from you by cheating, therefore you have no demand to make uponhis purse. The police will, I have no doubt, endeavor to keep this thingquiet, but your name may come out, and it would be far better thatyour father should hear this story from you than elsewhere; and yourassurance that you will never touch a card again, and the heavy lessonthat you have had, will doubtless induce him to look at the matterleniently. It will, no doubt, be a painful story to tell, but it will befar better told by you."

  "I will do it, sir; as you say, the lesson has been a heavy one, andhenceforth my father shall have no reason to complain of me. May I calland see you tomorrow evening?"

  "Certainly. I shall be at home from seven to eight, after which hour Ihave an engagement. Good night."

  Cotter walked on, and Mark fell back, and joined Dick and Boldero, whohad fallen behind when they saw him speaking to Cotter.

  "Well, Mark, I congratulate you," Dick Chetwynd said. "You did itwonderfully, though how on earth you knew that fellow had a card in hishand is more than I can guess."

  "I felt sure he was going to cheat," Mark said quietly; "I saw thatCotter's hand was a very strong one, and knew that Emerson would beaware that it was so, because he would receive no signal from Flash,therefore this was the time, if any, that he would cheat. He had beenplaying with both hands upon the table. I saw him withdraw one, therewas a little pause, and then it came up again, and I had not a doubtin the world that there was a card in it, and that it had beenhidden somewhere in his breeches, which is one of the best places ofconcealment, for his hand being under the table while getting at thecard, no one present who was not behind the scenes, as I was, coulddetect him doing it."

  "The wonder to me is," Boldero said, "that while there were a numberof men looking on closely, for Emerson has long been suspected of notplaying fair, you, ju
st fresh from the country, if I may say so, shouldhave spotted him."

  "That is easily explained," Mark said. "Not wishing to fall a victim, Ihave of late been put up to a great many of these sharpers' tricks by aman who at one time had been in the trade himself."

  "That was a capital idea, Mark," Dick said. "I wish you would introduceme to him."

  "I won't do that, Dick, but I shall be very glad to teach you all I knowmyself about it; but I fancy that after this you will be in no greathurry to enter a gambling hell again."

  "That is so, Mark. I have never had any great inclination for play;but after this you may be quite sure that I will light shy of cardsaltogether. Still, I shall be glad if you will put me up to some ofthese tricks, for I may be able to some day save a victim of cardsharpers, as you have done this evening."

  The next morning, when those who had been present at the scene of theprevious evening arrived at the office of the detectives in Bow Street,they were shown into some private rooms, and asked to wait. Cotter,Mark, and his two friends first had an interview with the chief.

  "You will understand," the latter said, "that this is an altogetherinformal affair. I propose you first tell me your story as briefly aspossible."

  This was done.

  "Now, Mr. Cotter. I take it that you do not wish to prosecute?"

  "Certainly not. I would, in fact, give anything rather than appear init."

  "You have said that, in addition to the IOUs that you have given to thetwo men caught cheating, they hold others to the amount of some fiveor six thousand pounds, given by you to three other frequenters of theclub. In fact, these papers have been found in Emerson's pocketbook; hetold you, I believe, that he had taken them up, so that you should notbe inconvenienced by them. I understand, then, that you will be quitecontent if you get these IOUs back again; those given to Emerson andFlash are, of course, worthless. After what has happened, they could notbe presented, but probably you might have trouble about the others,for, though I have no doubt that the whole of the men were in leaguetogether, we have no means of absolutely proving it."

  "I shall be more than content, sir; I have no wish to prosecute."

  "We are glad," the chief said, "to be able to close a dangerous place;and as the exposure will put a stop to the career of these two men, andno doubt alarm a good many others, we don't care about taking the matterinto court. Such gross scandals as this are best kept quiet, when thereis no object in ventilating them. Therefore, gentlemen, as Mr. Cotteris willing to do so, we shall let the matter drop. I shall be obliged ifyou will step into the next room, however, until I have seen these threemen."

  When they had left, the three were brought in.

  "You have been concerned, sirs," the chief said sternly, "in winninglarge sums of money from the Hon. William Denton, from Mr. James Carew,from Mr. William Hobson, and others; in all of these cases the two mencaught cheating last night were also concerned. You all hold notes ofhand of Mr. Hobson. I shall advise that gentleman's father to refuse topay those notes, and promise him that if any further request for paymentis made I will furnish him with such particulars for publication aswill more than justify him in the eyes of the world in refusing to honorthem. You, as well as Mr. Emerson and Sir James Flash, have won largesums from Mr. Cotter, and the fact that the IOUs he gave you were foundon Mr. Emerson points very strongly to their being in confederacy withyou in the matter; at any rate, they point so strongly that, whether ajury would convict or not on the evidence that we shall be able to laybefore them, there can be no question whatever as to what the opinion ofmen of honor will be. These IOUs are in our hands. Mr. Cotter does notdesire to pursue the case; he will, however, refuse absolutely to paythose IOUs, and in doing so he will have the approval of all honorablemen. That being so, the IOUs are absolutely useless to you, and if youwill agree to my tearing them up now, he has most kindly consented tolet the matter drop in your cases."

  The three men, who had all turned very white when he was speaking, nowprotested angrily against imputations being made on their honor.

  "Well, sirs," the officer said, "in that case the matter can, of course,go on. You know best what the feeling will be as to these IOUs. Theywill form an important item of evidence against you, you will see. Asthe matter stands, either you gave them to Emerson to collect for you,without any money passing between you--a very strange procedure, whichyou will find it difficult to explain--or else he gave you the coin forthem, and you passed them over to him, and have, therefore, parted withall claim on Mr. Cotter on your own account. Of course I impound themwith the other IOUs as proof of a conspiracy between you. Now, sirs, amI to tear them up or not?"

  The three men looked at each other, and then one of them said:

  "We protest altogether against the assertion, sir, but at the sametime, as there can be little doubt that Emerson and Sir James Flash haveplayed unfairly, and we do not wish any association of our nameswith theirs, we are perfectly willing that the IOUs, which, under thecircumstances, we should never have dreamt of presenting, should bedestroyed."

  "I think that you have chosen wisely," the chief said dryly. "It is apity that you did not do so at first. These are the IOUs he gave to oneor other of you. Perhaps it would be pleasanter for you to destroy themyourselves."

  The three men took the papers with their names on them and tore them up.

  "Thank you," he went on sarcastically. "That will place you in abetter position. You will be able to tell your friends that you felt soindignant at the manner in which Mr. Cotter had been swindled by Emersonand Flash that you at once destroyed his IOUs for the sums that you hadwon of him. But, gentlemen,"--he spoke sternly now,--"remember that wehave a long list against you, and that the next victim, or let us sayhis father, might be more disposed to push matters to their full lengththan is Mr. Cotter. Remember, also, that we keep ourselves acquaintedwith what is going on, and that should trouble arise we shall produceall the complaints that have been made against you, and shall alsomention your connection with this affair, in which, as I understand, youall did your best to prevent those two fellows from being searched."

  Without saying another word the three men went out of the room,too crestfallen to make even an attempt at keeping up their air ofindignation. The others were then called in.

  "I am sorry, gentlemen," he said, "that you have had the trouble ofcoming here, for the gentleman swindled has declined to prosecute theswindlers, and you will understand that he is somewhat anxious that hisname should not appear in the matter. Fortunately, as instead of payingin cash he gave IOUs for his losses, he will not be a loser to any largeamount by these transactions. I may say that the proprietor of the hellhas been there this morning, and to avoid trouble he has consented toclose his place for good. I have only to remark that I should adviseyou, gentlemen, in future, only to indulge in gambling in places whereyou may be fairly assured of the character of the men you play with. Ithink, in conclusion, that you may all feel grateful to Mr. Cotter forrefusing to prosecute. It has saved you from having to appear in courtas witnesses in so utterly disreputable an affair."

  There was a general murmur of assent, and in a minute or two the roomwas clear. Flash and Emerson were then brought in, with a constable oneach side of them.

  "Mr. Cotter has, I regret to say, declined to prosecute, and Mr.Thorndyke has done the same with regard to Sir James Flash's use of hispistol. You have, therefore, escaped the punishment due to swindlersat cards. It is the less matter, as you are not likely to have anopportunity of making fresh victims, for the story will be known bythis afternoon in every club in London. These IOUs will be of no use toyou--they are not worth the paper on which they are written. However,I shall take it upon myself to hand them back to Mr. Cotter, to preventthe possibility of their getting into other hands and giving himtrouble.

  "You can unlock those handcuffs, constable; these men are at liberty togo, and if they will take my advice they will lose no time in crossingthe water and establishing themselves somewhere where
their talents arelikely to be better appreciated than they are here. They can go; oneof you can call a hackney coach for them if they wish it. They willscarcely care to walk with their garments in their present condition."

  Then the chief went into the next room.

  "There is an end of that affair, Mr. Cotter. Here are the IOUs you gaveto those two swindlers. Those you gave to the other three men, who wereno doubt their confederates, have been torn up by them in my presence.They declare that after seeing how shamefully you had been victimizedthey had not the slightest idea of ever presenting them."

  "I am sure that I am extremely grateful to you," Cotter said. "I knowthat I have behaved like a madman, and that I don't deserve to have gotoff as I have done. It will be a lesson to me for life, I can assureyou."

  On leaving, Dick Chetwynd walked for some distance with Mark--as far asGibbons' place in St. Giles.

  "There is one thing which I cannot understand," he said, "and that ishow it was that the constables happened to be so close at hand, just atthe time they were wanted."

  "Well, you see, Dick, my relations with Bow Street are just at presentof a somewhat close nature, for they are aiding me in the search that Itold you that I was making for my father's murderer. The consequence wasthat I had only to mention to the chief that I fancied I had detectedcheating at that place, and that there was a likelihood of a row therelast night, and he at once said he would send four men, to come in ifthey heard a rumpus; and he was, indeed, rather glad of an opportunityfor breaking up the place, concerning which he had had severalcomplaints of young men being plucked to the last feather. Well, it waslucky they came. I don't say that it would have made any difference,because I think our side was a great deal stronger than they were, stillit would have led to a nasty row, and perhaps to half a dozen duelsafterwards. Well, I will say goodby now. I am very glad that the affairhas been dropped; it would not have mattered so much to me, as I amsingle and my own master, but there were a good many men there who wouldhave been ready to have paid up handsomely rather than that their namesshould appear in connection with a row at a gambling house."

  At seven o'clock in the evening Philip Cotter called at Mark's lodgings,accompanied by his father, who, as he came in with him, advanced at onceto Mark and shook him warmly by the hand.

  "My son has told me everything, Mr. Thorndyke," he said, "and I cannotthank you sufficiently for the noble part you took in rescuing him fromthe terrible effects of his folly. I have been down here twice thisafternoon, for I felt that I could not rest until I had shaken you bythe hand. It is not the question of money so much, though that wouldhave been a serious loss to me, but it is the saving of my son's life,and the saving of the honor of our name."

  "I am glad indeed to have been of service, Mr. Cotter, and I trust thatyou have consented to forgive the folly that he has committed, and whichI feel sure will never be repeated."

  "Yes. It was a heavy blow to me, Mr. Thorndyke, when Philip told me; butas he has sworn most solemnly never to touch a card again, and as I feelsure that the lesson cannot but be a useful one to him all his life, Ihave agreed to say no more about it, and let the matter drop altogether.He has been fortunate to have escaped so easily. He has told me of thenoble offer you made to pay his losses if you should not be able toprove that he was being cheated."

  "I was not committing myself heavily," Mark said with a smile. "I hadseen enough to be absolutely certain, and was sure that I should be ableto bring it home to them."

  "But it was at a considerable risk to yourself, Mr. Thorndyke. As itwas, you had a narrow escape of being shot."

  "Not a very narrow escape," Mark replied. "With so many men standinground him and their attention called to him, it was certain that hewould be seized before he could take aim at me. I had pistols in mypocket, and was prepared to fire in an instant, but I saw at once thatthere was no occasion for that."

  "But I cannot imagine how you should have detected the cheating," thebanker said. "You are younger than my son, and he said that you toldhim that you had only recently come up to London. It is astonishing thatwhile experienced players should never have noticed that anything waswrong you should have discovered it."

  "The explanation is simple, Mr. Cotter. I have no inclination for playmyself, but I happened a short time since to fall in with a man who waswell acquainted with all the various methods of card sharping. I thoughtthat a knowledge of that might some day be useful, and I got him toput me up to a number of the tricks of card sharpers both at home andabroad. Having these fresh in my mind, and seeing that your son wasplaying with a man whose reputation I knew to be bad, I naturallyconcentrated my attention upon him, and was not long in discovering thathe had a confederate standing behind your son's chair. Being a strangerin the place, I could not denounce him, but the next night I set twofriends to watch that method of cheating, while I kept my eyes fixed onEmerson's hands. As I anticipated, there was nothing suspicious abouthis movements so long as play was comparatively low, for the advantagethat he gained from his confederate enabled him to be sure of winning inthe long run; it was only in the last game, which was a high one, that,as he knew that your son had a strong hand, he was tempted to stockhis hand with false cards; and watching closely, I had no difficulty indetecting his method."

  "Well, sir, you have, at any rate, laid us both under the deepestobligation. Is there any possible way in which we can show ourgratitude?"

  Mark thought for a moment.

  "In one way you might do me a favor, Mr. Cotter. A ward of my father's,who will inherit some property when she comes of age, is at presentfinishing her education in town, and is living with a lady who hasbeen her friend and companion since childhood. I have a good manyacquaintances, but they are all bachelors; and having been living downat my father's place, near Reigate, for so many years, the ladies haveno acquaintances in London. They live at Islington, and their life isa very dull one. I am anxious, for several reasons, that the young ladyshould have the advantage of going somewhat into society. Hitherto Ihave had no means of introducing her. If it is not too much to ask, Mr.Cotter, I should be extremely glad and obliged if Mrs. Cotter would callon them and give them an introduction into society. The lady with myfather's ward is the widow of a captain in the Indian Army, and is inall ways a very charming person, and has been at the head of my father'sestablishment for the last twelve years."

  "With the greatest pleasure in the world, Mr. Thorndyke. I am only sorrythat it is so slight a thing that you ask of me. I have thought itbut right to tell my wife what has passed, and I had difficulty inpersuading her not to come with me this evening to also express hergratitude to you. She will be pleased indeed to call upon your friendsat once, and I am sure she will do so tomorrow. I was going to ask youto dine with us, and I hope that you will do so. We shall have no oneelse, and I hope that you will be able to arrange to meet your friendsat our house a few days later."

  The next morning Mark called on Mrs. Cunningham.

  "I think you will have a visitor today," he said. "It has happened thatI have been able to do a service to the son of Mr. Cotter, a wealthybanker. I am going to dine there this evening. He asked me about myfriends in London, and I mentioned that my only lady friends were youand Millicent. He asked a few questions as to where you were living, andso on, and said that his wife would have much pleasure in calling andintroducing Millicent into society. As your life is very dull here, andit is clearly very desirable that Millicent should go into society, Igladly accepted the offer, and I believe that she will call today."

  "That will be very nice indeed, Mark. Millicent is not complaining, butshe must have felt it very dull. I have even felt it so myself after thecheerful society we had at home."

  "I don't know that I shall like it," Millicent said doubtfully.

  "Oh, yes, you will, Millicent; and besides, it will be good for you. Itis not natural for a girl of your age to be here without friends, and Ishall be very glad to know that you are going to mix a little with otherpeople." />
  Mrs. Cotter called that afternoon, and three days later Mark met Mrs.Cunningham and Millicent at a dinner party at the banker's, and Mrs.Cotter introduced them very warmly to several of her friends, with theresult that in a very short time they were frequently invited out, whilethey became very intimate with the banker and his wife, and often spentthe day there.