V—The CardsharperIn the half hour preceding dinner, the guests of Wickham Towers began to re-assemble in the big lounge, and Larose was introduced to several more of them. As he had expected, there were many well-known people among them, and mindful of Sir Henry's official position, he was not at all surprised at the number of political and service men.
Many of them, from photographs he had seen in the newspaper, he already knew by sight, and the names of many others rang familiarly in his ears.
He thought with a smile how interested Herr Blitzen must be to find himself in this company, if that gentleman's holiday in England had anything of the nature of espionage about it.
But the whole time the Teuton's manner was most cold and distant, and, except when speaking to a woman, he never s
