Nearly the same number of hands were immediately displayed. Bell grew yellow in the face, and glared about him with fierce spite.
‘Good again,’ continued the captain; ‘Mr. Bell, I must congratulate you; fortune has been very kind to you—very kind indeed. Now, let those who have won money or aught else of George Bell, hold up their hands.’
Two hands were raised, and their owners being interrogated, it appeared that they had gained, one of them, not more than a couple of groats, and the other merely a small rusty pistol, which had burst the first and only time he had fired it, and against which he had staked, being incited by Bell, a good perspective glass.
‘So, then, gentlemen and comrades,’ pursued Captain Jem, ‘the case stands thus: here are a score of you have played with this man; and, although each man of that score ought to have had as good a chance of winning as Bell, yet the fellow has beaten you all, one after another; and the only winnings from him have been contemptible matters not worthy speaking of.’
The crew here uttered a loud murmur of acquiescence, and some of them began to threaten Bell with their fists. Still he tried to put a good face on the matter, although his tongue faltered as he spoke.
‘You are mistaken, gentlemen,’ he cried, ‘indeed you are; I will take my Bible oath that I played fair; nay, if you do not believe me, I am willing to give up all my winnings, and surely that ought to satisfy everybody. But I assure you, comrades, if I were to be hanged this minute, I would still say that you had no wrong from me. I am incapable of cheating, gentlemen! I do not understand how to cog dice, upon my soul; indeed, indeed I do not.’
‘That fellow’s tongue would hang him if there were but one rope in the world,’ says the boatswain; ‘he was the first to talk of foul play, and now he is the first to talk of cogged dice!’
‘We will soon settle that matter,’ says the captain, ‘and that by splitting open the ivory.’
‘Oh, certainly, certainly, I agree to that,’ says Bell; ‘here are my dice, sir,’ and he whipped out several cubes from his pocket.
‘No, no,’ interrupted I, ‘never mind these; we will try the dice with which you won the two doubloons e’en now.’ And one of the men having fetched a hammer, I placed the morsel of ivory upon the ledge of the hatchway. Upon seeing this, Bell went down plump upon his knees, and raised a dismal howl.