“Don’t talk in riddles. What have you discovered?�
He stared about the road and then pointed toward the light.
“We’ll move fast,â€� he said. “We must go to Stavanger and find if Ace-in-the-hole Harry—his right name is Harry Raymond—is there, or if he has taken a boat for the States.â€�
She stared at him as if he had gone insane.
“I never heard of such a man or such a name. The idea of going to Stavanger to see an individual called that! Why, Chester!�
“That’s right,� he said, “jump at conclusions. Now you’re wrong and I was wrong. Ace-in-the-hole
Harry is the king of the deep-sea Greeks. He knows more about card manipulation than any man living. He is working the boats and the pigeons and the new flock of commercial travelers who have gold. He can rob a man at poker or at fan-tan. He can deal seconds or hold out three aces. I saw him in the smoking-room of the Flushing, coming over to Holland. From there he was going to Stavanger. I heard him say so.�
“Do you think I would associate with him?�
“Yes—when I tell you he wore smoked-glasses exactly like the pair I threw away!â€�
She flushed and held herself back. She broke away from him and flashed an arch glance of query.