Todd, I shall expect you to pay if you lose."

"Oh, shut up, Cotton, you cad! I shall pay if I lose, man. What do you
want to keep on insulting me like that for?"

"Steady, Gus. You'll have Taylor up if you howl like that. I meant
nothing."

"Nothing!" said Gus in a fury, seeking for something particularly sweet to
say to his patron. "I jolly well hope, then, that if our house should meet
'em in the rounds you will do your little best to put a stopper on their
career. Don't, for the sake of pulling off your bet, present 'em with a
few goals. You 'keep' for our house, you know."

"Oh, dash it all, Todd," said Cotton, in a white rage, "you are a bounder!
Think I'd sell my side?" he demanded furiously.

"Ah!" said Gus, delighted at having got through Cotton's skin. "You don't
stomach insults any more than I do. Then why do you ladle them out so
jolly freely to me?"

"That was a particularly low one," said Cotton angrily; "and anyway, you
avaricious beggar, you've got thundering good terms, for it is hardly
likely that Biffen's can really be cock-house. There's Corker's house,
with Bourne and Hodgson and a few more good men. You're a sight more
likely to see my three sovs, that I am yours."

"I hope so," said Gus, with some relief at the anticipation of this
pleasant prospect.