“Oh, don’t mention it—a friend of mine gave me a tempting price for the whole lot, so I took it, of course, being short of money, and as you deserve a trifle on our old account, why of course it’s all right.”
“But it’s all wrong. Where’s the money?”
“In my pocket,” said Captain Jack, very coolly, “where it is likely to remain until I want it.”
“And what do you want with me so early in the morning?” asked Phillip.
“Wash yourself, and get out of the house as soon as possible, and then I’ll tell you. There, that will do; don’t take overmuch pains with yourself—you ain’t going far,” said Captain Jack, with a sinister smile.
“But where to?”
“You’ll soon see; but as I was about to say, regarding Fumbleton; he’s been after your wife a long time, and you are the one to blame, for if you would introduce her to all the worst sparks in town, why of course you can’t expect her to respect you much.”
“You are very kind with your advice this morning,” said Phillip; “one would almost imagine you had turned parson.”
“So I have, when there’s been a hanging going on, and no one near to read the service. But as I was saying about Fumbleton; he fancies he can play billiards, and so unknown to him I disguised my friend Alick Faulkner, some months ago, and they agreed to make a match for £500 a side. Now, Faulkner and I played a good deal together, but I always beat him, and as Fumbleton always beat me, because I let him, Alick was thought to be a good “mark” for the elegant young swell. The number of points in the game was to be 1,000.”
Gentlemen amateurs who were supposed to have had ‘the straight tip’ were freely staking any odds on Fumbleton, which the “knowing ones,” with Alick as their champion, were eagerly accepting.