“They’re still smoked! I never saw his eyes. He’s a deep one. I tried to talk to him after we left the saloon. He said ‘Good-night, old dear,’ and left me.�
“But you found out something?�
“Not a thing, Chester. He simply knew every single card in the game. He saw right through them. He is the most terrible man on the ocean. I lost—â€�
“How much?� asked Fay as he waited for her to finish.
“I lost thirty-two or three pounds. The Russian bet on the side. That’s how he happened to pull out the pearls.�
“What cabin is Raymond in?�
“It’s on this deck—about midships. The awful cockney is next door to him. What are you going to do?â€�
Fay gripped her arm. “I’m going to have it out with him,� he said. “I’ll stick him up and get the glasses. They have some property of revealing what ordinary eyes cannot see. How else could he read the backs of the cards? How else can the cipher be read?�
She bobbed her head and fastened upon him the fine scrutiny of a pal-in-arms. He studied her keenly
and then glanced over her shoulder. The fog blotted out all view of the sea and stars. The ship was plunging on toward Stavanger. The deck, as far as he could see, was deserted. It glistened in a long lane of shining moisture.