At this moment he noticed at some distance the portrait of Arabian on
its easel, and he put up his eyeglasses. Then he moved.

"Will you allow me to look at that portrait over there?" he asked.

"Rather! It's the last thing I've done, and not so bad either!"

Sir Seymour got up and went to stand in front of the portrait. He was
puzzled, and his face showed that; he frowned and pursed his lips,
bending forward.

"This is a portrait of a man called Arabian, isn't it?" he said at
length, turning round to Garstin.

"Yes. D'you know the fellow?"

"I haven't that--privilege," replied Sir Seymour with an extraordinarily
dry intonation. "But I must have seen him somewhere."

"About town. He's been here some time."

"But he's altered!" said Sir Seymour, still looking hard at the
portrait.

"I'm not a photographer, you know!"

"A photographer!" said Sir Seymour, who was something of a connoisseur
in painting, and had a few good specimens of the Barbizon School in his
apartment at St. James's Palace. "No. This isn't a photograph in paint.
It's a"--he gazed again at the portrait--"it's a masterly study of a
remarkable and hideous personality."

"Hideous!" said Garstin sharply.

"Yes, hideous," said Sir Seymour grimly. "An abominable face! Ah!"

He had been bending, but now pulled himself up.

"I saw that man at the Ritz Hotel a good many years ago," he said. "I
was giving a lunch. He was lunching close by with--let me see--an old
woman, yes, in a rusty black wig. Someone spoke to me about him, and
I--, Yes! I remember it all perfectly. But he looked much younger
then. It must be over ten years ago. I spotted him at once as a shady
character. One would, of course. But you have brought it all to the
surface in some subtle way. Does he like it?"

"To tell the truth I don't believe he does."

"I wish to speak to you about that man."

"Sit down again. Have a whisky?"

"No, thanks."

"What is it? Are the police after him?"

"I'm not aware of it."

"I know everything about him, as you see"--he shot out an arm towards
the portrait--"and nothing. I picked him up at the Cafe Royal. He's a
magnificent specimen."

"No doubt. What I want to know is whether you will allow me to bring two
or three people here to see this portrait? I'm doing this--I'm here now,
and want to come here again, if you are so kind as to allow me--"

"Always jolly glad to see you!" interjected Garstin, with a sort of
gruff heartiness.