An attendant sidled up to the gambler and handed him a card.
“O.K.?” he questioned. “This guy is a millionaire — got the line on him from downstairs—”
Big Tom read the name of Lamont Cranston. He noted the initials on the card. He looked toward the door and saw the quiet, firm-faced man who was standing there. He nodded his approval as he returned the card to the attendant.
Big Tom’s gaze began to follow Lamont Cranston as the new arrival walked across the room. Then the gambling king’s attention was diverted as he spied two men who had just entered. One was Herbert Carpenter; the other was a stout individual.
Big Tom smiled. Carpenter’s companion had been here before. He was Gifford Morton, a multimillionaire who came to Seaview City for the yachting season. Big Tom advanced to greet the guest. He had met Morton in Florida.
“Trying the wheel tonight, Mr. Morton?” questioned Bagshawe.
“Yes,” smiled Morton pleasantly. “I have a few thousand to squander — as I have done before in other establishments of yours.”
Carpenter threw a quiet glance toward Big Tom. It signified that the multimillionaire was going to lose more than a few thousand tonight, without the aid of Bagshawe’s roulette wheels.
Hard money served in place of chips at Big Tom Bagshawe’s. When Carpenter and Morton stopped in front of a roulette layout, the table was well covered with bright silver dollars and glittering gold pieces. Men in evening dress vied with beautifully gowned women in their efforts to gain big winnings.
Herbert Carpenter dropped twenty dollars on the red, and Gifford Morton followed suit. Passing the man at the wheel, Big Tom uttered a low remark, and received an almost imperceptible nod in reply.