PRELIMINARIES
In order to avoid any charge of signalling, it will be well for the following conversational formula to be used before the game begins:
The ring-leader of the game says to the fifth person: “Won’t you join the game and make a fourth? I have some work which I really ought to be doing.”
The fifth person replies: “Oh, no, thank you! I play a wretched game. I’d much rather sit here and read, if you don’t mind.”
To which the ring-leader replies: “Pray do.”
After the first hand has been dealt, the fifth person, whom we shall now call the “watcher,” puts down the book and leans forward in his (or her) chair, craning the neck to see what is in the hand nearest him. The strain becoming too great, he arises and approaches the table, saying: “Do you mind if I watch a bit?”
No answer need be given to this, unless someone at the table has nerve enough to tell the truth.
PROCEDURE
The game is now on. The watcher walks around the table, giving each hand a careful scrutiny, groaning slightly at the sight of a poor one and making noises of joyful anticipation at the good ones. Stopping behind an especially unpromising array of cards, it is well to say: “Well, unlucky at cards, lucky in love, you know.” This gives the partner an opportunity to judge his chances on the bid he is about to make, and is perfectly fair to the other side, too, for they are not left entirely in the dark. Thus everyone benefits by the remark.
The watcher walks around the table, giving each hand a careful scrutiny.
When the bidding begins, the watcher has considerable opportunity for effective work. Having seen how the cards lie, he is able to stand back and listen with a knowing expression, laughing at unjustified bids and urging on those who should, in his estimation, plunge. At the conclusion of the bidding he should say: “Well, we’re off!”
As the hand progresses and the players become intent on the game, the watcher may be the cause of no little innocent diversion. He may ask one of the players for a match, or, standing behind the one who is playing the hand, he may say:
