"That sets me back fifty plunks. That's easy. Here you are, one, two, three, four, five tens. Correct?" "Keerect," said Skippy, brushing in the greenbacks, with the same casual motion of his hand. "That squares me." "It does." "Now what's coming back?" Skippy in turn, after certain struggles with his trousers pocket, brought forth a bundle which could have done credit to a cattle king and said, as he slipped the elastic, "Twenty-five at five to one is just about one hundred and twenty-five." "That's all right, but how about the tip to Spike Murphy?" "Spike Murphy?" said Skippy, looking at him hard. "The fellow who put us wise." "Oh, that's all right," said Skippy, recovering a proper sporting manner. "Forget that. I cleaned up enough to handle a little thing like that." "Lucky dog!" "One hundred and twenty-five," said Skippy, going through the proper motions. "Twenty once, twice, three times, four and five. One hundred, and ten and twenty and twenty--" But at this moment, whether by chance, by intent or by the emotion caused by the display of such wealth, there was a crash from the nearby table and two magazines fell to the floor. Snorky, ever alert, sprang to his feet, retrieved the magazines and offered them to the blondest of the two with punctilious courtesy. "Allow me. I believe these belong to you?" "Oh thank you," said the young lady, looking quite distressed. "Awfully warm night, isn't it?" said Snorky, whose heart was pumping at his own unexampled audacity. "Sir, I do not think I have been introduced to you," said the young lady, stiffening and looking what to Snorky, at least, were daggers. He uttered several unintelligible sounds, flushed a fiery red and backed away. "Right where the chicken met the axe," said Skippy, who began to whistle a melancholy tune as he gathered up the scattered greenbacks. "Here comes mother." "Let's beat it," said Snorky, who felt a sudden need for a purer atmosphere. "You know women better than I do," said Skippy, who though a chum was human. "Damn them all," said Snorky, peering over the railing into the night and exposing his forehead to the cooling breeze. "But why the devil did she lead me on?" CHAPTER XXX EXPERIMENTS IN A DRESS SUIT WHEN they descended at the Southampton station the family coach was in waiting. They surrendered their valises to the footman while each clung tightly to a large square paper box, carefully protected and corded. "Gee, it'll just about knock the wind out of old Caroline," said Snorky in a whisper. "Don't they suspect?" said Skippy nervously. "Not for a minute. Say, I'd never have the nerve to sport it alone." "Have you got the box with the shirt studs in?" said Skippy fidgeting. "Why I handed it--" "That's so. They're here," said Skippy, after a dip into four pockets.