So I stick to
solitaire. It's dull, but cheap." He shuffled the cards clumsily. As
though making conversation, he asked: "You care for cards yourself?"
I told him truthfully I did not know the difference between a club and a
spade and had no curiosity to learn. At this, when he found he had been
wasting time on me, I expected him to show some sign of annoyance, even
of irritation, but his disappointment struck far deeper. As though I had
hurt him physically, he shut his eyes, and when again he opened them I
saw in them distress. For the moment I believe of my presence he was
utterly unconscious. His hands lay idle upon the table; like a man
facing a crisis, he stared before him. Quite improperly, I felt sorry
for him. In me he thought he had found a victim; and that the loss of
the few dollars he might have won should so deeply disturb him showed
his need was great. Almost at once he abandoned me and I went on deck.
When I returned an hour later to the smoking-room he was deep in a game
of poker.
As I passed he hailed me gayly.
"Don't scold, now," he laughed; "you know I can't keep away from it.
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