y
their opponents that Wyatt and his partner were forced to win a small
sum.

"Weally, gentlemen," drawled Wyatt, looking at his watch, "I shall be
fowced to leave you. I have an engagement at eleven, and I weally feah
ouah Mr. Townshend will be, as I might say, _hors de combat_ foh
the night. I have to thawnk you fow a vewy agweeable evening,
nevahtheless."

He was carelessly sweeping the money into his pocket when Mitchell,
his partner, checked him.

"I beg your pardon, but is that not a bad dollar?" he said.

"Oh, no mattah--no consequence at all, I assuah you," said Wyatt
liberally. He would have pocketed the piece, but Loring, who had paid
it, gave him another, and flung the slighted coin over to Mitchell.

"If you're so set on this dollar being bad," he said angrily, "I'll
bet you what you dare it's not bad."

"Done with you for twenty!" Mitchell covered it promptly.

Loring drew out a handful of bills. "Here you are. Any one else want
any of this?" he inquired captiously.

Archibald shook his head and laughed. Wyatt screwed his monocle into
his eye, regarded both sides of the coin attentively, and laid it
down.

"Quite bad, I assuah you," he said. "I should pwonounce it about the
wohst specimen extahnt."

"Maybe you'd like to bet on it?" said Loring, flaunting the big bills.

Wyatt was evidently nettled. "Weally, you aw wong--I assuah you," he
said stiffly.

"If you aw--pawdon me--quite able to lose that money
without--ah--inconvenience I am weady to covah it, at least, as fah as
what I have with me goes."

"Done!" said Loring. This was not so bad, after all.

"How much?... Aw! Seventeen thousand. Exactly. The bet is made,
gentlemen. I--ah--propose that we wing the bell foh the pwopwietah
and, shahl we say, the clahk, to act as judge and stakeholdeh."

"That will be satisfactory," said Loring. "Allow me, in turn, to make
a suggestion, Mr. Wyatt. Put the money in your billbook, hand it to
the stakeholder, and let him give it, unopened, to the winner. Of
course, you will first take out your other money. There is no need for
them to know that more than a trivial sum is at stake. We do not want
to court unpleasant notoriety."

"Quite twue! An excellent suggestion," said Wyatt gravely. He
proceeded to put it in effect.

The summoned dignitaries arrived, the situation was explained, and
Wyatt, handing the money to the proprietor and the questionable dollar
to the clerk, requested judgment.

Th