The shipwright watched as the line of playing cards on the table grew longer and longer, and he couldn't help but hold his breath.
He picked up the next card from his deck, flipped it over to reveal a four of spades, then he looked at the long train of cards on the table and sighed in disappointment when he didn't spot another four.
Reluctantly, he placed his card at the end of the sequence.
A glimmer of joy flashed in the little maid's eyes. "It's my turn!"
She too picked up a card, a club seven, the only seven on the table.
Fitzwilliam immediately became excited again. As soon as the little maid put down the seven, he prepared to draw another card.
By now there were eleven cards on the table, and the probability of not getting a duplicate on his next draw was very small, so it boiled down to how many cards he could capture.
