He brought the money back. Boyd and the Queen were waiting for him, but
Barbara was still in the ladies' lounge. "She's on the way out," the
Queen informed him, and, sure enough, in a minute they saw the figure
approaching them. Malone smiled at her, and, tentatively, she smiled
back. They began the long march to the exit of the club, slowly and
regally, though not by choice.

The crowd, it seemed, wouldn't let them go. Malone never found out, then
or later, how the news of Her Majesty's winnings had gone through the
place so fast, but everyone seemed to know about it. The Queen was the
recipient of several low bows and a few drunken curtsies, and, when they
reached the front door at last, the doorman said in a most respectful
tone: "Good evening, Your Majesty."

The Queen positively beamed at him. So, to his own great surprise, did
Sir Kenneth Malone.

Outside, it was about four in the morning. They climbed into the car and
headed back toward the hotel.

* * * * *

Malone was the first to speak. "How did you know that was a Jack of
clubs?" he said in a strangled sort of voice.

The little old lady said calmly: "He was cheating."

"The dealer?" Malone asked.

The little old lady nodded.

"In _your_ favor?"

"He couldn't have been cheating," Boyd said at the same instant. "Why
would he want to give you all that money?"

The little old lady shook her head. "He didn't want to give it to me,"
she said. "He wanted to give it to the man in the cowboy's suit. His
name is Elliott, by the way--Bernard L. Elliott. And he comes from
Weehawken. But he pretends to be a Westerner so nobody will be
suspicious of him. He and the dealer are in cahoots ... isn't that the
word?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Boyd said. "That's the word." His tone was awed and
respectful, and the little old lady gave a nod and became Queen
Elizabeth I once more.

"Well," she said, "the dealer and Mr. Elliott were in cahoots, and the
dealer wanted to give the hand to Mr. Elliott. But he made a mistake,
and dealt the Jack of clubs to me. I watched him, and, of course, I knew
what he was thinking. The rest was easy."

"My God," Malone said. "Easy."

Barbara said: "Did she win?"

"She won," Malone said with what he felt was positively magnificent
understatement.

"Good," Barbara said, and lost interest at once.

* * * * *

Malone had seen the lights of a car in the rear-view mi