It is improbable that Wesson was blind to certain blemishes which could have been urged against this ingenious scheme by a critic with a nice sense of the honorable; but, in his general conduct of life, as in his play at cards, he was accustomed to ignore the rules when he felt disposed to do so. He proceeded to mention in detail a few of the things which he proposed to call upon his ally to do. A delicate pink flush might have been seen to spread over Spennie's face. He began to look like an angry rabbit. He had not a great deal of pride in his composition, but the thought of the ignominious rôle which Wesson was sketching out for him stirred what he had to its shallow depths. Talking on, Wesson managed with his final words to add the last straw. "Of course," he said, "that money you lost to me at picquet--What was it? Ten? Twenty? Twenty pounds, wasn't it? Well, we could look on that as canceled, of course. That will be all right." Spennie exploded. "Will it?" he cried, pink to the ears. "Will it, by George? I'll pay you every frightful penny of it before the end of the week. What do you take me for, I should like to know?" "A fool, if you refuse my offer." "I've a fearfully good mind to give you a most frightful kicking." "I shouldn't try, Spennie, if I were you. It's not the form of indoor game at which you'd shine. Better stick to picquet." "If you think I can't pay you your rotten money----" "I do. But if you can, so much the better. Money is always useful." "I may be a fool in some ways----" "You understate it, my dear Spennie." "But I'm not a cad." "You're getting quite rosy, Spennie. Wrath is good for the complexion." "And if you think you can bribe me to do your dirty work, you never made a bigger mistake in your life." "Yes, I did," said Wesson, "when I thought you had some glimmerings of intelligence. But if it gives you any pleasure to behave like the juvenile lead in a melodrama, by all means do. Personally, I shouldn't have thought the game would be worth the candle. Your keen sense of honor, I understand you to say, will force you to pay your debt. It's an expensive luxury nowadays, Spennie. You mentioned the end of the week, I believe? That will suit me admirably. But if you change your mind, my offer is still open. Good night, Galahad." CHAPTER XV.