Roger Kyffin's Ward

by William Henry Giles Kingston

“Follow me, then,” said Sleech; “I observed the turn the others took, and dare say that I can find my way.”

Mr Sleech had no difficulty, although there were several dark passages and a flight or two of stairs to be passed. At length a light fell on their faces from an opening in the upper part of the wall. Mr Sleech uttered a few strange words, and a door, hitherto invisible, opening, he drew Harry through it. Another passage and another door were passed through, and they found themselves in a room of considerable size, in which a number of people were assembled round a table on which dice were rattling, and a gentleman with a long stick was drawing up towards him small piles of gold placed at the edge, and occasionally paying out others to some bystanders.

“Why, we have got into something like a hell,” whispered Mr Sleech to Harry. “I had no idea of the sort of place we were coming to. However, now we are here, let us stop and see the fun; it seems very exciting. See how eager these men watch the throws. I say, I feel quite a longing to have a cast myself; it is not a right thing to do, but when one once is in such a place it cannot much matter.”

“I would rather look on,” said Harry.

“So, of course, would I, generally,” said Sleech; “still it won’t do to be here long without having a throw now and then; but still it is better you should keep to your good resolution. If you like to take any refreshment, you will find plenty of it on the sideboard there. You will have nothing to pay; and if it is necessary I will see about that.”

Harry watched the proceedings for some time. He had too often, when with Lady Tryon, witnessed play going forward in private not to be too well acquainted with all the games in vogue. By degrees, therefore, his interest was aroused. Silas Sleech seemed unable any longer to resist the influence, and soon, pulling out some gold, he began to bet as the rest of the guests were doing. He was the winner of a considerable sum. Coming round to Harry, he put ten guineas into his hand. “There, my boy,” he said, “just try your luck with this; if you are the winner you can pay me, if not, never mind. It’s luck’s profits, so I shall not feel the loss.”

Harry hesitated. He had no love for gambling, and he knew that his guardian would be sorry to hear that he had engaged in play. Sleech, however, urged him to go on. “You’re sure to win, and you’ll repent it if you go away without anything in your pocket.”

Thus persuaded, Harry staked a couple of guineas and won. He then staked five, and was also successful. He doubled his stakes—again he came off the winner. It would have been better for him had he lost. He was still moderate in his stakes—fortunately, for luck, as Sleech called it, began to go against him. However, he left off with 100 pounds in his pocket. Sleech congratulated him as they wound their way out of the room down-stairs again.

“It’s a nice little sum,” he whispered; “you see what can be done if a man is cool and calm; only there is one little piece of advice I wish to give you: Don’t mention the matter to Mr Kyffin. If he asks you, just say that you have been to the same sort of place that you went to yesterday, but that you have seen enough of that sort of thing for the present. You know that to-morrow you are engaged to Mr Coppinger’s; so you told me. So we cannot go again for some little time.”

His second dinner at his uncle’s went off as pleasantly as the first. His cousins even improved on acquaintance. Sybella especially made herself agreeable to him. She did not try; it was her artless, natural manner which was so attractive. She was a sweet little creature, there was no doubt about that, and had not his heart been already given to Mabel, he would certainly have lost it to her. The only other guest was Mr Gilby. He seemed to be a very frequent visitor at the house, but Harry could not discover which of his cousins was the attraction. Perhaps the young gentleman himself had not made up his mind. Mr Coppinger was kind and courteous, but treated Harry with quite as much attention as he did the wealthy Mr Gilby. Indeed, that gentleman knew perfectly well that, should he wish to secure him for one of his daughters, the surest way to succeed would be to show perfect indifference about the matter. Harry was somewhat surprised at the interest his cousins took in the descriptions Mr Gilby gave of some of his exploits. He himself had never seen the fun of knocking down watchmen, running off with their rattles, and rousing up medical practitioners from their midnight slumbers, or calling reverend gentlemen out of their beds to visit dying people. By his own account, also, he had the entrée behind the scenes at all the theatres, and in many of them his chair upon the stage. He was a regular frequenter of Newmarket and the principal races in the kingdom, and there were very few hells and gambling-houses of every sort into which he had not found his way. He, however, seemed to be aware that Mr Coppinger could not approve of this part of his proceedings, and therefore only spoke of them out of hearing of his host. He seemed to look down with supreme contempt on Harry, who had not such experiences to talk of, and again offered to introduce him into life.