"All right," said the leading genius of the place. "All right," said "Collins," aloud; but he stepped up to Payne, and kindly whispered in his ear, "But would you do it? I wouldn't hazard it now. Play half for half, say; for if you should lose all, you know—well, do as you like."
"Yes, I will do as I like—I'll play all." There was a smile of fiendish triumph then on Collins' face, which Payne did not see, but I did, and I couldn't help feeling a pulse of vengeance beating in my heart as I contemplated how soon the scoundrel's face might change its expression. Payne's money was put up; one game was to decide the whole. His notes were put up on the table, by the other side, to the amount of fifteen thousand dollars.
"But where are the rest?" said he. "No trifling; and where are the collaterals?" and there was bickering about the understanding, and I was appealed to. "I did not wish to interfere," I said; but that "I understood it was to be a clean sweep. But as there was a misunderstanding, perhaps 'twasn't best to play at all to-night; wait for another occasion, and Payne take his money and go."
The gamblers saw it was of no use to pretend further misunderstanding, and that Payne's money was likely to be more readily "gobbled up" then than if they were to wait, and consented to put all on the table, though as the collaterals were packed away and locked in the safe, they proposed to put money up instead—ten thousand dollars.
"No, no," said Payne, "I want to see the whole on the table. I want to look at 'em once more. There's my Harry Clay watch" (a very fine five hundred dollar watch); "I want to look her in the face again—play better, I tell you, gentlemen, in her smiles;" and so he went on. I was at the instant disposed to favor him; but on second thought I suspected that that money would be mostly, if not wholly counterfeit, and I saw if it was, how I would trap the scoundrels, and save Payne's fifteen thousand too, as well as get up his notes and all his collaterals; and I interposed. "No need, Mr. Payne, of troubling to get out the collaterals. The money at hand's just as good, and if you win you can buy back the collaterals."
"Yes, yes, that's it," said Collins, eager now to see the foolish Payne slaughtered. The money was produced. "Here, count it if you please, Mr. Wilson," said Payne, as the first bundle of a thousand dollars was thrown upon the table.
I caught it up carelessly, and ran it over rapidly. "One thousand," said I, all right; and so with the next, and the next, till the fifth had been counted, when I said, "Mr. Payne, there's no use counting the rest; I guarantee it all right." It is not easy to deceive me with a counterfeit bill at any time; but that night, alert and watchful, I could have sworn that more than nine tenths of the money I counted was counterfeit. The play came. I declined to join as "partner" of Payne, as he had called me. He played tremblingly. I began to fear that he would not hold out till the proper time for me to expect my men; but he did, and just as the game was about concluding, disastrously to him, there came a ring at the door-bell. The servant hurried down, and the excited gamblers bade Payne "play, play." Up came a dandy-looking chap, apparently intoxicated. He was my man. He blundered around, took a little wine from the side-board, and said maudlin things; staggered on to the board, made the gamblers angry, one of whom drew a light cane over him. I interposed, took his part, said that they should excuse him; if he was a fool, he was drunk; should be pardoned if he asked pardon; and, taking advantage of the black boy's absence in the exterior room, said, "I'll show him down, and get him out of the way." "Wilson, you are always so polite and obliging," said Blanchard, facetiously, as I led out the stranger, who was very loath to go, and needed some encouragement.
DESCENT UPON BLANCHARD AND THE GAMBLERS.
"Just so," said I. "Don't you think I'd make an excellent waiter here?"