r all that," the major continued. "Why, man, I was
always the luckiest chap at cards. I depinded on me skill principally,
but still I had luck as well. I remimber once being becalmed for a
fortnight in the Bay of Biscay in a small transport. Skipper and I
tried to kill time by playing nap, and we had the stakes low enough at
first, but they soon grew higher, for he kept trying to cover his
losses. Before the ind of the two weeks I cleared out of him nearly all
he had in the world. 'Look here, Clutterbuck,' he said at last, looking
mighty white about the gills, 'this ship that we are in is more than
half mine. I am chief owner. I'll stake me share of the ship on the
next game against all that I have lost.' 'Done!' said I, and shuffled,
cut, and dealt. He went four on three highest trumps, and an ace, and I
held four small trumps. 'It's a bad job for my creditors,' he said, as
he threw his hand down. Ged! I started on that vyage a poor captain,
and I came into port very fairly well off, and sailing in me own ship,
too! What d'ye think of that?"

"Wunderbar!" ejaculated the German. "And the captain?"

"Brandy, and delirium tremens," the major said, between the puffs of his
cigarette. "Jumped overboard off Finisterre, on the homeward vyage.
Shocking thing, gamblin'--when you lose."

"Ach Gott! And those two knives upon the wall, the straight one and the
one with the crook; is there a history about them?"

"An incident," the major answered languidly. "Curious, but true. Saw
it meself. In the Afghan war I was convoying supplies through the
passes, when we were set upon by Afreedees, hillmen, and robbers. I had
fifty men of the 27th Native Infantry under me, with a sergeant.
Among the Afreedees was a thumping big chief, who stood among the rocks
with that very knife in his hand, the long one, shouting insults at our
fellows. Our sergeant was a smart little nigger, and this cheek set his
blood up. Be jabers! he chucked his gun down, pulled out that curved
dagger--a Ghoorkha knife it is--and made for the big hillman.
Both sides stopped firing to see the two chaps fight. As our fellow
came scrambling up over the rocks, the chief ran at him and thrust with
all his stringth. Be jabers! I thought I saw the pint of the blade
come out through the sergeant's back. He managed to twist round though,
so as to dodge it. At the same time he hit up from below, and the
hillman sprang into the air, looking for all