And so I felt more than ever extinguished and out of it, and all my fond hopes of making an impression on my old schoolfellow speedily vanished.
"What are you going to do ?" said Whipcord, when the meal was over.
"I don't care," said Daly; "cards if you like." "Oh, bother cards," was the reply; "let's have a ramble out of doors for a change." "Hullo! Whip, how is it you're down on cards ?" said the Field-Marshal.
"I thought you always won." There was something not very nice in the tone of the cadaverous man of war which roused the ire of the virtuous Whipcord.
"What do you mean, you--who says I always win at cards ?" "You generally win when I'm playing against you," said the Field- Marshal.
"Look here," said Whipcord, very red in the face, and chewing his straw in an agitated manner, "do you mean to insinuate I cheat at cards, eh, you-- ?" "I never said anything of the kind," replied the Field-marshal; "I said you generally won, that's all.

What's the use of making an ass of yourself ?" I began to perceive by this time that Mr Whipcord was excited by something more than the Field-Marshal's talk.

The fact was, he had drunk too much, and that being so, it was worse than useless to reason with him.
"Who says I generally win at cards ?" shouted he.

"I'll fight any one that says so: if you like, I'll take the lot of you." The laugh which greeted this valiant challenge only enraged the excited youth the more.
He broke out into language which seemed to be only too ready to his lips, and again shouted, "I'll teach you to call me a cheat, I will! I'll teach you to call me a blackleg, so I will! I'll teach you to call me--" "A howling jackass," put in the Field-Marshal, whose chief vocation it seemed to be to goad on his irate guest.
"Yes, I'll teach you to call me a howling jackass!" cried Whipcord, turning short round on me, and catching me by the throat.
"Me! I never called you a howling jackass!" cried I, in astonishment and alarm.
"Yes, you did, you young liar; I heard you.

Wasn't it him ?" he cried, appealing to the company in general.
"Sounded precious like his voice," said one of the fellows, who, as I had scarcely opened my mouth the whole evening, must have had a rather vivid imagination.
"Yes, I know it was you.