And now one of the dicers upsets his chair with a curse, and gets on his feet. Looking up, I saw his features for a moment—a slight, pretty boy, scarce above eighteen, with fair curls and flush’d cheeks like a girl’s. It made me admire to see him in this ring of purple, villainous faces. ’Twas evident he was a young gentleman of quality, as well by his bearing as his handsome cloak of amber satin barr’d with black. “I think the devil’s in these dice!” I heard him crying, and a pretty hubbub all about him: but presently the drawer enters with more wine, and he sits down quietly to a fresh game.
As soon as ’twas started, one of the crew, that had been playing but was now dropp’d out, lounges up from his seat, and coming to the casement pushes it open for fresh air. He was one that till now had sat in full view—a tall bully, with a gross pimpled nose; and led the catches in a bull’s voice. The rest of the players paid no heed to his rising; and very soon his shoulders hid them, as he lean’d out, drawing in the cold breath.
During the late racket I had forgot for a while my friend under the sycamore, but now, looking that way, to my astonishment I saw him risen from his bench and stealing across to the house opposite. I say “stealing,” for he kept all the way to the darker shadow of the wall, and besides had a curious trailing motion with his left foot as though the ankle of it had been wrung or badly hurt.
As soon as he was come beneath the window he stopped and called softly—
“Hist!”
The bully gave a start and look’d down. I could tell by this motion he did not look to find anyone in the bowling-green at that hour. Indeed he had been watching the shaft of light thrown past him by the room behind, and now moved so as to let it fall on the man that addressed him.
The other stands close under the window, as if to avoid this, and calls again—
“Hist!” says he, and beckons with a finger.
The man at the window still held his tongue (I suppose because those in the room would hear him if he spoke), and so for a while the two men studied one another in silence, as if considering their next moves.
After a bit, however, the bully lifted a hand, and turning back into the lighted room, walks up to one of the players, speaks a word or two and disappears.