“Half a dozen, you mercenary little limb of the law.”
“Hold hard, there! or, in your nautical parlance, avast there! I don’t want the money—only to lose. If I play billiards with Van he’s sure to beat me, and he knows it; therefore, he won’t play me without he thinks he can win some money. Give me a fiver to lose to him, and I’ll warrant he won’t leave the billiard-room till he has got every shilling.”
“Here—take ten pounds,” said Trevor, hastily; “and go on, there’s a good fellow.”
“No; five will do for him,” said Frank. “And now I shall have to play my best, to make it last.”
“Frank, old boy, you’re a trump. I don’t know what I should have done without you.”
“I always was a young man who could make himself generally useful,” said Pratt. “Good luck to you, old boy!”
He sighed, though, and looked rather gloomy as he went out to seek the friends whom he had left in the smoking-room, where Vanleigh was in anything but a good humour, and had been pouring a host of complaints into Sir Felix’s ear. It was foolish of them to come down to such an out-of-the-way place; they should be eaten up with ennui. Why didn’t Trevor order horses round? The wines weren’t good; and he hadn’t smoked such bad weeds for years.
“Must make the best of a bad bargain,” said Sir Felix. “Must stay—week.”
“Oh! we’ll stay a month now we are here,” said Vanleigh; “let’s punish him somehow. What do you say to having a smoke outside?”
“I’m ’greeable,” said Sir Felix; and they passed out through the window.