“I'll make you a sporting proposition,” he murmured. “You owe me a hundred and fifty thousand francs. I'll stake that against what only two men in the empire can give me.”
The prince allowed his eyes to travel slowly round the circle of the table. But the puzzled glances of the other players showed that to them Peter's proposal conveyed no meaning.
The prince smiled cynically.
“For yourself?” he demanded.
“For Doctor Gilman,” said Peter.
“We will cut for deal and one hand will decide,” said the prince. His voice dropped to a whisper. “And no one must ever know,” he warned.
Peter also could be cynical.
“Not even the Sultan,” he said.
Abdul won the deal and gave himself a very good hand. But the hand he dealt Peter was the better one.
The prince was a good loser. The next afternoon the GAZETTE OFFICIALLY announced that upon Doctor Henry Gilman, professor emeritus of the University of Stillwater, U. S. A., the Sultan had been graciously pleased to confer the Grand Cross of the Order of the Crescent.