He looked at me questioningly.
"Her Highness was very gracious to me last night," I explained—and I felt my face getting red.
Courtney got up and came over to me,
"Is it up to a hand-shake, old man?" he asked.
I nodded, and we gripped fingers.
"It would have been up to the King, to-morrow, but for this miserable wife business," said I.
"Good!" he exclaimed. "Lotzen does not hold all the cards—you've got a few trumps, too. It will be a pretty game."
"For the spectators," I supplemented.
"For you, too; when you get into the swing of it."
"I wish I had your happy way of viewing things," I said.