Alone, J. Rufus went out to the track, and on the race in which Razzoo was entered at average odds1 of ten to one, he got down six hundred dollars, reluctantly holding back, for his hotel bill, three hundred dollars—all he had in the world. Then he shut his eyes, and with large self-contempt waited for Razzoo to finish by lamplight. To his immense surprise Razzoo won by two lengths, and with a contented2 chuckle3 he went around to the various books and collected his winnings, handing to each bookmaker derogatory remarks calculated to destroy the previous entente4 cordiale.
On his way out, puffed5 with huge joy and sitting alone in the big automobile6, he was hailed by a familiar voice.
[Pg 173]
“Well, well, well! Our old friend, J. Rufus!” exclaimed Harry7 Phelps, he of the natty8 clothes and the curly hair.
With Mr. Phelps were Larry Teller9 and Billy Banting and Yap Pickins.
“Jump in,” invited J. Rufus with a commendable10 spirit, forgiving them cheerfully for having lost money to him, and, despite the growl11 of protest from lean Short-Card Larry, they invaded the tonneau.
“You must be hitting them up some, Wallingford,” observed Mr. Phelps with a trace of envy. “I know they’re not furnishing automobiles12 to losers these days.”
“Oh, I’m doing fairly well,” replied Wallingford loftily. “I cleaned ’em up for six thousand to-day.”
The envy on the part of the four was almost audible.
“What did you play?” asked Badger13 Billy, with the eager post-mortem interest of a loser.
“Only one horse in just one race,” explained Wallingford. “Razzoo.”
“Razzoo!” snorted Short-Card Larry. “Was you in on that assassination14? Why, that goat hasn’t won a race since the day before Adam ate the apple, [Pg 174]and the jockey he had on to-day couldn’t put up a good ride on a street car. How did you happen to land on it?”
Blandly15 Wallingford produced the telegram he had received that morning.
“This wire,” he condescendingly explained, “is from the National Clockers’ Association of Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America, who are charitable enough to pass out long-shot winners, at the mere16 bag-o’-shells service-price of five dollars per day or twenty per week.”
They looked from the magic word “Razzoo” to the smiling face of J. Rufus more in sorrow than in anger.
“And they happened to hand you a winner!” said the cadaverous Mr. Teller, folding the telegram dexterously18 with the long, lean fingers of one hand, and passing it back as if he hated to see it.
“Winner is right,” agreed J. Rufus. “I couldn’t pick ’em any other way, and I took a chance on this game because it’s just as good a system as going to a clairvoyant19 or running the cards.”
There was a short laugh from the raw-boned Mr. Pickins.
“I don’t suppose they’ll ever do it again,” he observed, [Pg 175]“but I feel almost like taking a chance on it myself.”
“Go to it,” advised J. Rufus heartily20. “Go to it, and come home with something substantial in your pocket, like this,” and most brazenly21, even in the face of what he knew of them, young Wallingford flaunted22 before their very eyes an assorted23 package of orange-colored bank-bills, well calculated to excite discord24 in this company. “Lovely little package of documents,” he said banteringly; “and I suppose you burglars are already figuring how you can chisel25 it away from me.”
They smiled wanly26, and the smile of Larry Teller showed his teeth.
“No man ever pets a hornet but once,” said Billy, the only one sturdy enough to voice his discomfiture27.
Wallingford beamed over this tribute to his prowess.
“Well, you get a split of it, anyhow,” he offered. “I’ll take you all to dinner, then afterward28 we’ll have a little game of stud poker29 if you like—with police interference barred.”
They were about to decline this kind invitation when Short-Card Larry turned suddenly to him, with a gleam of the teeth which was almost a snarl30.
[Pg 176]
“We’ll take you,” he said. “Just a little friendly game for small stakes.”
J. Rufus elevated his eyebrows31 a trifle, but smiled. Inwardly he felt perfectly32 competent to protect himself.
“Fine business,” he assented33. “Suppose we have dinner in my rooms. I’m beginning to get them educated at my hotel.”
At the hotel he stopped for a moment at the curb34 to give his chauffeur35 some instructions, while the other four awaited him on the steps.
“How’d you come to fall for this stud game, Larry?” inquired Phelps. “I can’t see poker merely for health, and this Willy Wisdom won’t call any raise of over two dollars when he’s playing with us.”
“I know he won’t,” snapped Larry, setting his jaws36 savagely37, “but we’re going to get his money just the same. Billy, you break away and run down to Joe’s drug-store for the K.O.”
They all grinned, with the light of admiration38 dawning in their eyes for Larry Teller. “K.O.” was cipher39 for “knock-out drops,” a pleasant little decoction guaranteed to put a victim into fathomless40 slumber41, but not to kill him if his heart was right.
[Pg 177]
“How long will it be until dinner’s ready, Wallingford?” asked Billy, looking at his watch as J. Rufus came up.
“Oh, about an hour, I suppose.”
“Good,” said Billy. “I’ll just have time. I have to go get some money that a fellow promised me, and if I don’t see him to-night I may not see him at all. Besides, I’ll probably need it if you play your usual game.”
“Nothing doing,” replied Wallingford. “I only want to yammer you fellows out of a hundred apiece, and the game will be as quiet as a peddler’s pup.”
J. Rufus conducted the others into the sitting-room42 of his suite43 and sent for a waiter. There was never any point lacking in Wallingford’s hospitality, and by the time Billy came back he was ready to serve them a dinner that was worth discussing. The dinner despatched, he had the table cleared and brought out cards and chips. It was a quiet, comfortable game for nearly an hour, with very mild betting and plenty to drink. It was during the fifth bottle of wine, dating from the beginning of the dinner, that Short-Card Larry, by a dexterous17 accident, pitched Wallingford’s stack of chips on the [Pg 178]floor with a toss of the deck. Amid the profuse44 apologies of Larry, Mr. Phelps, who was at Wallingford’s left, stooped down to help that gentleman pick up his chips, and in that moment Badger Billy quietly emptied the colorless contents of a tiny vial in Wallingford’s glass. J. Rufus never was able to remember what happened after that.
Silk pajama clad, but still wearing portions of his day attire45, he awoke next day with a headache, and a tongue that felt like a shredded-wheat biscuit. He held his head very level to keep the leaden weight in the top of it from sliding around and bumping his skull46, and opened the swollen47 slits48 that did him painful duty for eyelids49 wide enough to let him find the telephone, through which instrument he ordered a silver-fizz. Of the butler who brought it he asked what time it was.
“One o’clock, sir,” replied the butler with the utmost gravity.
One o’clock! J. Rufus pondered the matter slowly.
“Morning or afternoon,” he huskily asked.
“Afternoon, sir,” and this time the butler permitted himself the slightest trace of a smile as he [Pg 179]noted the electric lights, still blazing in sickly defiance50 of the bright sunshine which crept in around the edges of the double blinds.
“Huh!” grunted51 J. Rufus, and pondered more.
Half dozing52, he stood, glass in hand, for full five minutes, while the butler, with a lively appreciation53 of tips past and to come, stood patiently holding his little silver tray, with check and pencil waiting for the signature. At the expiration54 of that time, however, the butler coughed once, gently; once, normally; the third time very loudly. These means failing, he dropped the tray clattering55 to the floor, and with a cheerful “Beg your pardon, sir,” picked it up. Not knowing that he had been asleep again, Wallingford took a sip56 of the refreshing57 drink and walked across to a garment which lay upon the chair, feeling through the pockets one after the other. In one pocket there was a little silver, but in the others nothing. He gave a coin to the butler and signed the check in deep thoughtfulness, then sat down heavily and dozed58 another fifteen minutes. Awakening59, he found the glass at his hand on the serving-bench, and drank about a fourth of the contents very slowly.
“Spiked!” he groaned60 aloud.
[Pg 180]
He had good reason to believe that his wine had been “doctored,” for never before had anything he drank affected61 him like this. Another glance at the garment of barren pockets reminded him to look about for the coat and vest he had worn the night before. They were not visible in his bedroom, and, still carrying the glass of life-saving mixture with him, he made his way into his sitting-room and surveyed the wreck62. On the table was a confusion of cards and chips, and around its edge stood five champagne63 glasses, two of them empty, two half full, one full. Against the wall stood a row of four empty quart bottles. In an ice pail, filled now with but tepid64 water, there reposed65 a fifth bottle, neck downward. Five chairs were grouped unevenly66 about the table, one of them overturned and the others left at random67 where they had been pushed back. The lights here, also, were still burning. Heaped on a chair in the corner were the coat and vest he sought, and he went through their pockets methodically, reaching first for his wallet. It was perfectly clean inside. In one of the vest-pockets he found a soiled, very much crumpled68 two-dollar bill, and the first stiff smile of his waking stretched his lips.
[Pg 181]
“I wonder how they overlooked this?” he questioned.
Again his eyes turned musingly69 to those five empty bottles, and again the conviction was borne in upon him that the wine had been drugged. Under no circumstances could his share, even an unequal share, of five bottles of champagne among five persons have worked this havoc70 in him.
“Spiked,” he concluded again in a tone of resignation. “At last they got to me.”
The silver-fizz was flat now, but every sip of it was nevertheless full of reviving grace, and he sat in the big leather rocker to think things over. As he did so his eye caught something that made him start from his chair so suddenly that he had to put both hands to his head. Under the table was a bit of light orange paper. A fifty-dollar bill! In that moment—that is, after he had painfully stooped down to get it and had smoothed it out to assure himself that it was real—this beautifully printed government certificate looked to him about the size of a piano cover. An instant before, disaster had stared him in the face. This was but Thursday morning, and, having paid his hotel bill on Monday, he had the balance of the week to go on; but for [Pg 182]that week he would have been chained to this hotel. Now he was foot-loose, now he was free, and his first thought was of his only possible resource, Blackie Daw, in Boston!
It took two hours of severe labor71 on the part of a valet, two bell-boys and a barber to turn the Wallingford wreck into his usual well-groomed self, but the hour of sailing saw him somnolently72, but safely ensconced on a Boston packet.
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1
odds
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| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
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2
contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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3
chuckle
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| vi.／n.轻声笑，咯咯笑 | |
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4
entente
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| n.协定；有协定关系的各国 | |
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5
puffed
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| adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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6
automobile
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| n.汽车，机动车 | |
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7
harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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8
natty
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| adj.整洁的，漂亮的 | |
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9
teller
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| n.银行出纳员；(选举)计票员 | |
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10
commendable
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| adj.值得称赞的 | |
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11
growl
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| v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣 | |
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12
automobiles
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| n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 ) | |
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13
badger
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| v.一再烦扰，一再要求，纠缠 | |
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14
assassination
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| n.暗杀；暗杀事件 | |
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15
blandly
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| adv.温和地，殷勤地 | |
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16
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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17
dexterous
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| adj.灵敏的；灵巧的 | |
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18
dexterously
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| adv.巧妙地，敏捷地 | |
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19
clairvoyant
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| adj.有预见的；n.有预见的人 | |
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20
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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21
brazenly
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| adv.厚颜无耻地；厚脸皮地肆无忌惮地 | |
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22
flaunted
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| v.炫耀，夸耀( flaunt的过去式和过去分词 )；有什么能耐就施展出来 | |
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23
assorted
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| adj.各种各样的，各色俱备的 | |
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24
discord
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| n.不和，意见不合，争论，（音乐）不和谐 | |
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25
chisel
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| n.凿子；v.用凿子刻，雕，凿 | |
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26
wanly
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| adv.虚弱地；苍白地，无血色地 | |
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27
discomfiture
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| n.崩溃；大败；挫败；困惑 | |
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28
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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29
poker
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| n.扑克；vt.烙制 | |
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30
snarl
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| v.吼叫，怒骂，纠缠，混乱；n.混乱，缠结，咆哮 | |
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31
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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32
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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33
assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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34
curb
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| n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制 | |
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35
chauffeur
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| n.(受雇于私人或公司的)司机；v.为…开车 | |
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36
jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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37
savagely
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| adv. 野蛮地，残酷地 | |
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38
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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39
cipher
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| n.零；无影响力的人；密码 | |
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40
fathomless
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| a.深不可测的 | |
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41
slumber
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| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
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42
sitting-room
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| n.（BrE）客厅，起居室 | |
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43
suite
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| n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员 | |
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44
profuse
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| adj.很多的，大量的，极其丰富的 | |
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45
attire
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| v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装 | |
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46
skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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47
swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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48
slits
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| n.狭长的口子，裂缝( slit的名词复数 )v.切开，撕开( slit的第三人称单数 )；在…上开狭长口子 | |
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49
eyelids
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| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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50
defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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51
grunted
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
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52
dozing
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| v.打瞌睡,假寐 n.瞌睡 | |
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53
appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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54
expiration
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| n.终结，期满，呼气，呼出物 | |
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55
clattering
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| 发出咔哒声（clatter的现在分词形式） | |
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56
sip
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| v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量 | |
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57
refreshing
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| adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的 | |
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58
dozed
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| v.打盹儿，打瞌睡( doze的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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59
awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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60
groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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61
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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62
wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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63
champagne
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| n.香槟酒；微黄色 | |
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64
tepid
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| adj.微温的，温热的，不太热心的 | |
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65
reposed
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| v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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66
unevenly
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| adv.不均匀的 | |
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67
random
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| adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
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68
crumpled
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| adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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69
musingly
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| adv.沉思地，冥想地 | |
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70
havoc
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| n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱 | |
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71
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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72
somnolently
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| adv.瞌睡地；昏昏欲睡地；使人瞌睡地；催眠地 | |
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