It was Maragon who did that. I hadn t noticed him, but somebody gave me the grip, and I looked around. He was back against the wall, short, gray and square. I gave his ear lobe a TK tug in return, harder, perhaps, than was necessary, and nodded for him to follow both of us to my office. We ll have to talk about it, Lefty, he said, as he closed the door against the smell of iodoform. No, we don t, I said. I don t care who is losing how much money at Peno Rose s Sky Hi Club. Right here in this hospital people are dying. Ask old Thousand Cuts, I went on, nodding to the scalpel surgeon. We just pulled one out of the fire.
_=13.=_ The adversaries may stop a player dealing out of turn, or with the wrong pack, provided they do so before the trump card is turned, after which the deal stands good. _=14.=_ _=MISDEALING.=_ A misdeal loses the deal. It is a misdeal: If the cards have not been properly cut; if the dealer gives two cards to one player and three to another in the same round; if he gives too many or too few cards to any player; if he counts the cards on the table, or those remaining in the pack; or if he deals a card incorrectly, and fails to correct the error before dealing another. If the dealer is interrupted in any manner by an adversary, he does not lose his deal. _=15.=_ _=THE TRUMP CARD.=_ After the trump card is turned, each player in turn, beginning with the eldest hand, has the privilege of passing, assisting, or ordering up the trump.
Such combinations are therefore always worth 16 points: four runs of three, worth 12, and 4 points for the two separate pairs. [Illustration: 🂡 🂢 🂳 🃔 🃄 ] If the five cards contain one sequence of four, and one duplicate, the combination will always be worth 10 points; 8 for the double run of four, and 2 for the pair. The foregoing should be thoroughly familiar to every player, so that he may know the exact value of the combination the moment he sees the length of the sequence and the number of duplicates. _=Two-card Fifteens.=_ Any combination of two or more cards, the total face value of which is exactly 15, is called _=fifteen-two=_, because each fifteen so formed is worth two points in the pegging. There are only three combinations of two cards which will form fifteen; a Five with any court card or Ten; a Nine and a Six; an Eight and a Seven. The manner of counting duplicates is the same as that employed for the pairs and sequences, and the player should be equally familiar with each variety of combination. The fifteens formed by _=two cards=_ only are the simplest, and should be studied first. [Illustration: 🂮 🂻 🂥 ] It is obvious that if there is in the hand or the starter a duplicate of either of the cards forming the fifteen, no matter which, another fifteen can be formed, and the combination will therefore always be worth 6 points; 4 for the two fifteens, and 2 for the pair. It must not be forgotten that in the case of _=tenth cards=_, as they are called, the duplicates may not form pairs, as for instance with K J 5.
| Redhill, Surrey. | +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ | 1.|Green gravel. |Green gravel. |Green gravel. | | 2.| -- | -- | -- | | 3.| -- | -- | -- | | 4.| -- | -- | -- | | 5.| -- | -- | -- | | 6.
The winner of the _=last trick=_ scores fifty points for it immediately. _=SCORING.=_ Each deal is a complete game in itself, and the winner is the player who has scored the most points for carte blanche, combinations, and the last trick. The brisques are not counted, unless they are necessary to decide a tie, or save a rubicon. The value of the game is determined by deducting the lesser score from the higher, and then adding 500 points to the remainder. In this deduction all fractions of a hundred are disregarded. For instance: A’s score is 1830; while B’s is 1260. A wins 1800, less the 1200 scored by B, which leaves 600; to this must be added the 500 points for game, making the total value of A’s game 1100 points. If the scores are very nearly equal, being within one or two hundred points of each other, the tricks taken in by each player are turned over, and the brisques are counted, each player adding to his score ten points for every brisque he has won. Suppose that after the last trick had been played and scored, A’s total was 1260, and B’s 1140.