She has been _declasse_ ever since her first divorce. That
was a 'celebrated case,' and she's dropped down pretty far in the world,
though I judge she's a good deal the best of this crowd. Exactly what
her relations to the others are I don't know, but I imagine that she's
pretty thick with 'em."
"Just a little!" exclaimed Cooley. "She sits behind one of the lambkins
and Helene behind the other while they get their woolly wool clipped. I
suppose the two of 'em signaled what was in every hand we held, though
I'm sure they needn't have gone to the trouble! Fact is, I don't see why
they bothered about goin' through the form of playin' cards with us
at all. They could have taken it away without that! Whee!" Mr. Cooley
whistled loud and long. "And there's loads of wise young men on the
ocean now, hurryin' over to take our places in the pens. Well, they can
have _mine_! Funny, Mellin: nobody would come up to you or me in the
Grand Central in New York and try to sell us greenbacks just as good
as real. But we come over to Europe with our pockets full o' money and
start in to see the Big City with Jesse James in a false mustache on one
arm, and Lucresha Borgy, under an assumed name, on the other!"
"I am afraid I agree with you," said Cornish; "though I must say that,
from all I hear, Madame de Vaurigard might put an atmosphere about a
thing which would deceive almost any one who wasn't on his guard.
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