Grief shook his head. “Some mistake, I'm afraid.”
“No,” Deacon declared positively. “I counted every card I took in. That's the one thing I was correct on. I've twenty-six, and you've twenty-six.”
“Count again,” Grief said.
Carefully and slowly, with trembling fingers, Deacon counted the cards he had taken. There were twenty-five. He reached over to the corner of the table, took up the rules Grief had written, folded them, and put them in his pocket. Then he emptied his glass, and stood up. Captain Donovan looked at his watch, yawned, and also arose.
“Going aboard, Captain?” Deacon asked.
“Yes,” was the answer. “What time shall I send the whaleboat for you?”
“I'll go with you now. We'll pick up my luggage from the Billy as we go by, I was sailing on her for Babo in the morning.”
Deacon shook hands all around, after receiving a final pledge of good luck on Karo-Karo.
“Does Tom Butler play cards?” he asked Grief.
“Solitaire,” was the answer.