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Show 128 RICHARD TIURDIS. suspicious Uisposition, but I thougltt tlw.t their eyes sparkled as tlwy beheld it, and there was nn instant interchange of glnnccs between them. llurriedly I shufllecl througlt, and with an agitntion wltich I could not well conceal, I dealt out tho cards. T here wns a gcnCI'Ill and somewhat unwonted silence nround tl1c t:tLlc. \V c all seemed to Lo conscious of tltoughts and fCelings, wllich needed to be concctllcd. The checks of my comp:Hiion were red; but Ito laughed and })lnycd. His first l)lay was :m error. I fixed my eye upon one of the str:mgers and his glauco fell beneath it. T here was a guilty thoug ht busy in !t is bosom. Scarcely a word ·was spoken-none unnecessarily - wltilc thnt hnnd lasted. Hut when it came to the turn of one of our OJJponents to deal, and when I found !tim shuffling us before, l grew indignant. I protested. He insisted upon lt is r ight lo slttdTic :ts lte pleased - a r ight which I denied. He would not yield the point, and I left the table. The fellow would have put on a irs, anti. actually thought to bully me. He used some big words, a nd, rising at the same time, npproached me. "Sir, your conduct-" I stO})petl him hnlf way, and in It is SJ)CCch" Ls insulting yon would say." "I do, s ir; very insulting, sir, very.' ' "Be it so. I c:w not help it. I will v lay with no m:m wlw employs a mode of slmflling wltich puts all the trump cards into his own and Jl<.ll'tucr's h:nals. l do not wislt to play with you, a ny how, sir; and ,·cry much regret that the persuasions of my friend nHtde me yieltl agaiust my Letter judgment. 1\ly rule is never to pl;ty with strangers, tmd your game It as confirmed me in my opinion of its prOJlriety. l shall take care never to depart from it in future," "Sir, you don't mean to impute :.mytlti11g to my honor. If you do, sir--" l\Iy reply to th is swagger was anticipated by " .il1iam, who had not before spok en, but 110w stood between us. "And what if he did, ch 1'' "Why, sir-but I was not speaking to you, sir," said the fellow. '1'111~ THAVELLEW3 PALl .. AMONG •rJIJEVES. 120 "Ay, I know tl tat, but I'm. ~~~caking ~o yat:;, \ Vlwt if he did doubt yom honor, anti wltnt d l doubt tt, ch. He u \Vhy tlten, sir, if you did-" Tho fC'llow )lanscd. . I wns n. met·e bully and looked round to his comp:uuon, who sttl kept :'L quid scat at the tabl~. . ·In a most contemptuous "T'~haw !" exclaimed \ Vtllunn, manner. 1 ~ How 'l'akc up " You arc mistaken in your men, my goo( c : ' '] yonr illexican, n.nd thank your stars you h;wc ~~t ,•,t s,~~~~:s~?t~ Shut up now and be quiet. I t lies upon tltc ta c. low obeyed. 1 1 "You won't play any longer 1" he demam cc: , "No,'' was my reply. "'l'o play with you,~~ to mak·c· )OU and dechnc you, our friends. \Ve will fight wtth you, d you please, but not pl~l~ with you!" ' \Ve were, at least 'l'o this proposttlon tlte answer "as slow. )Osscssors of tho ground. But our triumph was a monstrous I . ·1 f . ' t 'l'hc annoyance of the whole small one, nn_d ~v~ . P·~~ m:l 'Cnrrin<~ton did not so much feel scene wns cxcessn e · o f t 1 · .... it lie wns a careless, buoynnt, good sort o c!·c::t u~·c, tnvt·nJ n~no of my suspicion, nnd little of t!tat morLtd pndc wlu~ t boiled in ntC'. H e ln.ughcd at the fellows ami. the whole affatr, wltcn 1 was most disposed to groan over it, and to cu~·se th~tn. l could only brin;; his countcn:mce to. a gra~·e cxprcss.JOn~ ~~ '~7- I reminded !tim of his imprudence m takmg out Ius 10 money. , l . l' ] . "but there's no .. Aj' that was cursed c:treless, 10 tCp tel • ht'lping' it now- I must on 1y 1.: :eep my \\·.·tt.s :· tbout. me nteoxutt time. and if Lnnn comes from it, keep n sttfl l tp and a s hc:ut', and Le rc:tcly to meet it." . I. k I oo f \Vill i:un Carrington was too braYe a f~llow to. t llll on~ o clnuooer, nnd he wont to bed that night wLth as ltght a hentt as if h~ had not a sixpence in tho world. G" |
