We four went at it again. I reckoned that at that time Archie had lost about two thousand pounds--nearly the whole of it to Pendarvon in IOU's. His heavier losses all came afterwards. Silvester also lost. He made a very nasty loser. He allowed things to escape his tongue which, under other circumstances, might have brought the sitting to a prompt and a turbulent close. Pendarvon, to whose address Silvester's little observations were principally directed, seemed to take it for granted that the fact of his being three-parts drunk covered a multitude of sins. For my part, on the whole I won. By degrees, as Silvester's sulkiness increased, the game resolved itself into a sort of triangular duel. Archie went for Pendarvon, and Pendarvon went for me. As he found, for the most part, that his assaults were unavailing, and that my mood was beatific, Pendarvon began to follow Silvester's lead and lose his temper. Not, however, on Silvester's lines. The more enraged he grew, the more he laughed. I knew the gentleman so well. Archie began to play like a lunatic. Once Silvester declined to come in. I had four knaves; it was the second four hand I had had within a very few minutes. Of course, I started to back it for all I was worth. What Archie and Pendarvon had was more than I could guess; I did not much care. I felt that, whatever they had, I was about their match. I had taken one card, wishing them to suppose that I had drawn to two pairs. Archie had had two. I took it that he had started with a triplet. Pendarvon had had three; apparently he had opened with a pair. It seemed from the betting that they had both improved their hands, for neither seemed disposed to tire. The pool crept up to a thousand. Then Archie found fault with the rate of progression. "Confound this limit! It's child's play; we shall be at it all night. Will either of you see me for £500?" Pendarvon hesitated, or appeared to. "Having fixed a limit, isn't it rather against the rules to travel outside? But, so far as I am personally concerned, I don't mind seeing your five hundred, and raising you another five. What do you say, Townsend?" "I object. At this point of the game to change the points in such a fashion would simply be to plunder you. I hold the winning hand." Archie became excited, and not quite civil. "That's rot. I say ditto to Pendarvon, Reggie. Will you pay a thousand to see our hands?" "I will do this. I will agree to each man tabling a thousand, and showing his hand." "Done!" Archie scribbled an IOU. "Now, Pen, down with your thousand." Pendarvon counted out a heap of Archie's IOU's, laughing as he did so. "I hope that's good enough." I drew a cheque on a sheet of paper. "Now, Archie, if you please, let us see your hand." He faced his cards. "A straight flush!" he cried.