I can do no more."

I saw then that my suppositions were correct, and that the old fellow
was not as ignorant as he desired me to believe. I accordingly wrote my
name, with that of the hotel at which I was staying, at the top of the
card, and handed it to him, and then, seeing that there was nothing
further to be done, bade him good-morning, and left the shop.
Fortunately, the road home was easier to find than I had expected it
would be, and it was not very long before I was once more in the Piazza
S. Ferdinando.

I was still thinking of the curious interview through which I had just
passed when, as I crossed the road, I was suddenly recalled to the
reality of the moment by a loud voice adjuring me, in scarcely
complimentary terms, to get out of the way, unless I desired to be run
over. I turned my head in time to see a handsome carriage, drawn by a
pair of horses, coming swiftly toward me. With a spring I gained the
pavement, and then turned to take stock of it. It was not, however, at
the carriage I gazed, but at its occupant. For, lying back upon her
cushions, and looking even more beautiful than when I had seen her last,
was Pharos's companion, the Fraeulein Valerie de Vocsqal. That she saw
and recognised me was shown by the expression on her face and the way in
which she threw up her right hand. I almost fancied I could hear the cry
of amazement that escaped her lips. Then the carriage disappeared in the
crowd of traffic and she was gone again. For some moments I stood on the
pavement looking after her as if rooted to the spot. It was only when I
had recovered myself sufficiently to resume my walk that I could put two
and two together and understand what significance this meeting had for
me. If she were in Naples, it was well-nigh certain that Pharos must be
there too; and if he were there, then I hoped it would be in my power to
find him and acquaint him with the determination I had arrived at
concerning him. That he desired to avoid me I could well understand, and
the very fact that his companion showed so much astonishment at seeing
me seemed to point to the same conclusion. Poor blind worm that I was, I
hugged this conceit to my heart, and the more I did so the more resolved
I became in my own mind that, when I _did_ meet him, I would show no
mercy. Debating with myself in this fashion, I made my way along the
Strada S. Carlo and so by a short cut to my hotel.

As I have already remarked, there is nothing dr