.. No, guv'nor, I beg pardon, I
don't mean that. I'm much obliged to you for the grub, and I'll
thank you to let me go now the coast's clear.'
It was obvious that he was badly puzzled. You see he had never
seen me, and my appearance must have altered considerably from
my photographs, if he had got one of them. I was pretty smart and
well dressed in London, and now I was a regular tramp.
'I do not propose to let you go. If you are what you say you are,
you will soon have a chance of clearing yourself. If you are what I
believe you are, I do not think you will see the light much longer.'
He rang a bell, and a third servant appeared from the veranda.
'I want the Lanchester in five minutes,' he said. 'There will be
three to luncheon.'
Then he looked steadily at me, and that was the hardest ordeal
of all.
There was something weird and devilish in those eyes, cold,
malignant, unearthly, and most hellishly clever. They fascinated me
like the bright eyes of a snake. I had a strong impulse to throw
myself on his mercy and offer to join his side, and if you consider
the way I felt about the whole thing you will see that that impulse
must have been purely physical, the weakness of a brain mesmerized
and mastered by a stronger spirit. But I managed to stick it out and
even to grin.
'You'll know me next time, guv'nor,' I said.
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