nearly twelve o'clock before
Dennison was the only winner at the table , and smiled benignly round him when he was not lighting his pipe . Lambert threw his money about with a magnificent air more comical than impressive , and Jack Ward seemed to be the one man whose attention was riveted on the game . When a remark was made on any subject except bad luck , Ward broke in asking some one how much they were going to stake or telling Bunny , who never seemed to know what was going to happen next , that they were waiting for him . I thought `` Bank '' must be the dreariest of all card games , but it was nearly twelve o'clock before Langham got up and said he must go . When the game was over I asked Ward how much he had won over Dainty Dick , and at once there was a roar of laughter . `` He lost over three pounds , '' Dennison said `` But how did he manage that ? '' I asked , for my knowledge of racing being limited I did not understand how he could have backed the winner of this race and yet lost money .