Edward Phillips Oppenheim

“ Eve sat up and was instantly grave.
"It is your clear-sighted way of putting things," she explained softly. "You seem to understand people so thoroughly."
"I don't generally make no mistake about the number of beans in the game," Mr. Moss observed in a self-congratulatory tone. "I can tell a crook from a mug a bit quicker than most."
"I have suggested to Mr. Moss, my dear," Mr. Parker intervened, turning toward us with beaming face, "just a little early dinner—say, at Stephano's—just as we are, you know. Will this be agreeable to you?"
"Certainly!" Eve assented promptly. ”

“ They hadn't any suspicions, I suppose, about those—those little trifles?"
"None," I replied. "I put it all on to a waiter."
"How clever of you! You really do seem to be a most capable person—and so masterful! I begin to fear that some day you'll have your own way." ”

“ Parker.
"He is one for the gab, ain't he?" he remarked confidentially to me.
For the life of me, at that moment I could not tell whether to leave the room in a fit of angry disgust or to accept the ludicrous side of the situation and laugh. Fortunately for me, perhaps, I caught Eve's eye, in which there was more than the suspicion of a twinkle. I chose, therefore, the latter alternative. Mr. Moss watched us for a moment curiously.
"What might your line be, guvnor?" he asked as he set down his glass.
"Oh, anything that's going," I replied carelessly. "City work is rather my specialty." ”