Reginald Thomas Maitland Scott

“ It seemed incredible that so powerful and important a man as Bannister should act the handmaid to Mortimer Mack, or to any man. Yet he had given up his seat at the roulette table and crossed the floor to extend his pen rather than allow Mack to wait a few minutes for Jerry Stone to return.
Bannister did not look like a man who would allow himself to be caught by the wiles of a woman such as Cora. His clear eyes and steady hand as he held the pen gave no indication of the dope victim, and he was worth so many millions that it would appear impossible for him to have been ruined by gambling. ”

“ But Jerry was one of those men who are a trifle weak from lack of worldly experience. He became flustered and, when such a man becomes flustered, he sometimes becomes stubborn. Jerry became stubborn in an endeavor to offset his lack of composure. He had started out to do something and he insisted upon doing it, after which he was willing enough to have a drink but could not afford to play roulette.
Wentworth, still holding Jerry with friendly firmness by the arm, glimpsed Mortimer Mack approaching them. ”

“ Wentworth smiled. "Nita," he said, "I do not think that Mortimer Mack is giving New York such excellent roulette for the purpose of making money. Suppose that a politician should lose more than he could afford. Suppose that he gave an I.O.U. that he could not meet, or wrote a check without sufficient funds in the bank. Gambling has placed many a man in another man's power."
"Look!" exclaimed Nita "There is Jerry Stone standing beside Mortimer Mack on the other side of the table behind the two croupiers." ”