“I answer for them,” replied Sydney; “it is my honour that is concerned, not theirs, and they are, in some measure, guests in my house. You will be allowed to depart unmolested, and to-morrow I will receive you in my rooms, and endeavour to come to a settlement with you.”
“I take your word,” said the blackleg, and he raised the box from the table, and rattled the dice again.
[CHAPTER XXVII.]
FREDERICK HOLDFAST’S STATEMENT (CONTINUED).
During the interval that elapsed between the acts of raising the box from the table and throwing out the dice, my observation was drawn to Grace. She stood at a little distance from the men, bending forward, her eyes fixed upon the box, her lips parted, her hands clasped, and a bright colour in her cheeks. She held her breath suspended, as it were, as though her fate hung upon the issue of the throw.
The dice rolled out of the box, and three single black dots lay exposed. Mr. Pelham had lost. He had thrown three aces.
He flung the box from him with a shocking oath. It struck a man in the face, and he stepped towards Mr. Pelham, with the evident intention of striking him in return, when Sydney interposed.