“I mean, how much do you want to bet? As you are beginners, suppose you make it a half a dollar.” “You said there was to be no betting,” cried Mrs. Fogg, at the same time trying to match a pair of a jack of diamonds and a four of spades that she had spread out on the table before her. “Oh, you each are to put a black bean on the middle of the table, and, madam, please never show your cards until you are called.” “Sir!” “Oh,” groaned the gambler, “what I mean is this. I will explain as we go along when someone calls for you to show down, but it is or should be your object to hide your hands—cards—as completely as possible from all the others.” “I don’t see how I am going to find out if I don’t look,” grumbled the little woman. The newspaper man was enjoying this mightily, and from time to time he cast pitying eyes at the unfortunate big ghost, for once he had had the pleasure of teaching three women to play the noble game, and he fully sympathized with the suffering man. The ghostly gambler gathered himself together and said: “Now, ladies; there are a number of complications in this game, and as they arise I will explain them.” “I would prefer to know them all at once,” said she of the pretty teeth. “I am sure that I could remember.” The poor man began to look as if he thought that this was a job put up against his peace of mind, but he courageously continued: “As I said, your object is to get as many pairs or cards of the same number of spots into your hand as possible, and if you have two pairs, or only one pair, you can draw three cards from the pack putting as many of those as you hold in your hand back—discard, they call that—and try and make up a full hand that way. Now each of you has five cards. Please look at them, and, well, as this is the first, perhaps it would be better for you to show them, and I will advise you what to do.” “You just told me not to show mine.” “Now, wouldn't that come and fetch you?” muttered the wretch under his breath. “What’s trump?” asked she whose teeth were so pretty. The old maid scored a hit by putting her cards, hand and all, into the big paw of the gambler, and letting it lie there innocently. “I'll scrape the pot,” cried the old lady ghost, at the same time triumphantly showing two deuces and three trays. “I—I—beg your pardon?” said the bewildered man. “Isn’t that what you say when you get better than anyone?” she asked defiantly. “Oh, yes,” murmured he faintly; “but we must wait and see what the others have got.” One lady had two queens, two jacks and a tray, and another had four fives and an ace. Mrs. Fogg had a four, a seven, a jack and two nines. She was highly indignant when she discovered that her hand did not count beside the others. “If there is going to be such favoritism shown, I don’t care to play,” she said, pouting.