abit of making up his mind, he brightly said, "I'll play if
you like, but you must know that I am only a youngster and not a
first-rate player." So they sat down, the lovely lady from Baltimore
being Sandy's partner, and the military gentleman and the young
daughter of the lady from Baltimore being their opponents. Sandy had
great good luck. The very best cards fell to him continually, and he
thought he had never played so well. He caught occasional strains of
music from room Number 56, and he was glad that Oscar was enjoying
himself. From time to time the lovely lady who was his partner smiled
approvingly at him, and once in a while, while the cards were being
dealt, she said, "How divinely those dear boys are playing!"

The afternoon sped on delightfully, and Sandy's spirits rose. He
thought it would be fine if the "New Lucy" should stay stuck on a
sand-bar for days and days, and he should have such a good game of
whist, with the lovely lady from Baltimore for a partner. But the
military gentleman grew tired. His luck was very poor, and when the
servants began to rattle dishes on the supper-table, he suggested that
it would be just as well perhaps if they did not play too much now;
they would enjoy the game better later on. They agreed to stop with
the next game.

When they had first taken their places at the card-table, the military
gentleman had asked Sandy if he had any cards, and when he replied
that he had none, the military gentleman, with a very lordly air, sent
one of the cabin waiters to the bar for a pack of cards. Now that they
were through with the game, Sandy supposed that the military gentleman
would put the cards into his pocket and pay for them. Instead of that
he said, "Now, my little man, we will saw off to see who shall pay for
the cards."

"Saw off?" asked Sandy, faintly, with a dim notion of what was meant.

"Yes, my lad," said the military gentleman. "We will play one hand of
Old Sledge to see who shall pay for the cards and keep them."

With a sinking heart, but with a brave face, Sandy took up the cards
dealt to him and began to play. It was soon over. Sandy won one point
in the hand; the military gentleman had the other three.

"Take care of your cards, my son," said the military gentleman; "we
may want them again. They charge the extravagant price of six bits for
them on this boat, and these will last us to St. Louis."

Six bits! Seventy-five cents! And poor Sandy had only twenty-five