"Ah!" said the young solicitor, in a tone of surprise and reflection. He resolved to look this matter up when he got back to the office. He was still curious. "And may I ask if you know whether he found the system a good one? If he found it to fail oftener than to succeed, and still kept to it, one might put the persistency down to mental obliquity."
Although he said this in a confident tone, the words were no sooner uttered than he began to doubt their justice, for he had known many men who adhered to a system which had nine times out of ten betrayed them.
"I cannot tell you. I do not know."
"If he betted heavily, you would have been likely to hear whether he won or lost. Of course when I say heavily, I don't mean that he ran any danger of crippling himself. But he must have been elated when he won and dejected when he lost?"
"No. He did not bet heavily. He never seemed to care whether he won or lost. It was the system which he prized, and not the wager."
Young Pringle thought this was a sure sign of a disordered mind; but he kept the opinion to himself, as he considered it more a matter of private than professional interest. He said:
"I suppose Mr. Davenport could not have been in financial embarrassment owing to any betting transactions?"
"I am certain he was not."
"Or from any other cause?"
"I am sure he was not."