"No, no, I am not losing."

"You ain't?"

"No."

"Suppose you are mistaken."

"I can stand it."

"You can?"

"I can."

"All right; no use for me to attempt to stand against a young fellow like you. I begin to suspect you've been playing innocent, and I will teach you a lesson; I raise you a hundred."

"I see it and go two hundred better."

Each time a bet was made the money was laid on the table, and it was a very exciting scene and moment. The sharp looked puzzled; he had laid out for a dead sure thing, but there had come a complete change over Desmond, and it was the latter fact that scared the sharp. He hesitated, but at length, in a slow tone, said: