The twinkle

The twinkle is a covert gambling device made from a small piece of glass, a jewel, or a mirror inserted into the end of a cigar. In Alistair Lauderback’s account, it becomes more than a method of cheating: it is an unexplained breach of privacy that leaves him unable to tell how he was watched or outplayed.

Construction and Use

The device works by turning an ordinary gesture into an opportunity to see what should remain hidden. A gambler can smoke around the reflective piece without revealing it; when the cigar is taken from the mouth and held at an angle, the twinkle reflects another player’s cards. In a doubles game, it can instead show a partner the gambler’s own hand. Its disguise is part of its function: the cigar appears familiar, while its small reflective insert makes it an instrument of surveillance and collusion.

Lauderback’s Unresolved Suspicion

Lauderback tells Thomas Balfour that Francis Carver, speaking under the name Wells, claimed to have had a twinkle on him. Lauderback had been gambling and spending time with Lydia, and allows that he may have been spied upon, but he cannot explain how he was marked without knowing it. The admission embarrasses him; the more he tries to account for the trick, the more conspicuous its unanswered question becomes. He says he still does not know what the device was, and that the uncertainty has driven him mad.

Balfour tests the explanation by miming the use of a cigar, then challenges its practicality: a player might keep cards close or flat on the table, and an outstretched arm could make an opponent pull them away. His objections do not resolve Lauderback’s experience. Instead, they expose the gap between the device’s simple description and the claim that it was successfully used against him.

The Ship and the Unfinished Connection

After Lauderback confirms that he did what Carver asked, Balfour suggests that there may be another twinkle on him, then points to the ship as another connection between the two men. The exchange shifts the term beyond the mechanics of a card game: suspicion about hidden observation now sits beside their dealings over a vessel. The twinkle’s narrative force comes from that unresolved reach. Its exact operation remains unknown to Lauderback, while the accusation and the ship together make the relationship feel governed by concealed knowledge.