“Who is the banker?”
“Count Cesare Agostini.”
“Newly joined the club?”
“For a time. Agreeable fellow, good fencer, and reckless player.”
“Is he lucky?”
“Ah, no. He has very bad luck. Loses more than any one else, in fact.”
“Do you know anything about him?”
“He was introduced by the Prince de Cystriano and M. Beltrand. The Agostini family is well known; they are the younger branch of the great Italian family, the dukes of Briviesca.”
“Why do they receive so many foreigners at the club?” asked Marcel, with a displeased air.
“Ah, my dear friend, the club lives on them, so to speak. I know they make themselves as much at home here as at their hotel. It is not very pleasant for us. But what is there to be done? The establishment must be kept going.”