House, and sung by a band of relics of better days, wandering over
here!" said Hawke.

And then it finally dawned upon the blase young staff officer that
he had met Alan Hawke in certain circles where plunging had chased
away the tedium of Indian club life with the delightful sensations
of raking in other people's money.

"Better come up to my rooms then, and have a weed and a bit of
ecarte!" slowly said Anstruther. "We may manage a ride afterward!"
Alan Hawke nodded, and a thirsty gleam lit up his crafty eyes. He
instinctively felt for the little card case containing that solitary
twenty-pound note; it was a gentleman's stake after all. And the
would-be suicide silently invoked the fickle goddess Fortuna!

Captain Anstruther, however, furtively murmured a few words to the
solemn head steward and then leaned back contentedly in his chair.
His ostensible orders for cafe noir and cards, as well as the least
murderous of the obtainable cigars, covered the plan of using a
five-pound note in an adroit personal inquiry. For, the Honorable
Anson Anstruther proposed to ride that very evening, and he did
not wish to bore Major Hawke with his company. He nursed a little
scheme of his own. "Do you make a long stay?" carelessly said the
wary Major.

"I intend to leave to-morrow night," gayly answered the other. "I
came over here on a very strange errand. I've got to see an eminent
Gorgon of respectability, who has a finishing school here for the
young person [bien clevee," said Anstruther, eyeing the unknown.