young man would have come here direct, and would have made himself
quite at home, methinks, had he had but the first encouragement."

"Gad! Lady Catharine, but he has a conceit of himself. Think you of what
he has done in his short stay here in town! First, as you know, he sat
at cards with two or three of us the other evening--Charlie Castleton,
Beau Wilson, myself and one or two besides. And what doth he do but
stake a bauble against good gold that he would make _sept et le va_."

"And did it?"

"And did it. Yes, faith, as though he saw it coming. Yet 'twas I who cut
and dealt the cards. Nor was that the half of it," he went on. "He let
the play run on till 'twas _seize et le va_, then _vingt-un et le va_,
then twenty-five. And, strike me! Lady Catharine, if he sat not there
cool as my Lord Speaker in the Parliament, and saw the cards run to
_trente et le va_, as though 'twere no more to him than the eating of an
orange!"

"And showed no anxiety at all?"

"None, as I tell you, and he proved to us plain that he had not
two-pence to his name, for that he had been robbed the night before
while on his way to town. He staked a diamond, a stone of worth. I must
say, his like was never seen at cards."

"He hath strange quality."

"That you may say. Now read me some farther riddles of this same young
man. He managed to win from me a little shoe of an American savage,
which I had bought at a good price but the day before. It came to idle
talk of ladies' shoes, and wagers--well, no matter; and so Mr. Law
brought on a sudden quarrel with Beau Wilson. Then, though he seemed not
wanting courage, he half declined to face Wilson on the field. Sudden
to change as ever, this very morning he sent word to Wilson by Mr.
Castleton that he was ready to meet him at four this afternoon. God save
us! what a haste was there! And now, to cap it all, he hath taken my
horse from me and ridden off to keep an appointment which he says he
never made! Gad! These he odd ways enough, and almost too keen for me to
credit. Why, 'twould not surprise me to hear that he had been here to
make love to the Lady Catharine Knollys, and to offer her the proceeds
of his luck at faro. And, strike me! if that same luck holds, he'll
have all the money in London in another fortnight! I wish him joy of
Wilson."

"He may be hurt!" exclaimed the Lady Catharine, starting up.

"Who? Beau Wilson?" exclaimed Sir Arthur. "Take no fear. He carries a
good blade."