f
the effect his personality in the first instance had upon me. In this
case I find it more than usually difficult, for the reason that, as I
came more under his influence, the original effect wore off and quite
another was substituted for it.

His height was considerably below the average, his skull was as small as
his shoulders were broad. But it was not of his stature, his shoulders,
or the size of the head which caused the curious effect I have elsewhere
described. It was his eyes, the shape of his face, the multitudinous
wrinkles that lined it, and, above all, the extraordinary colour of his
skin, that rendered his appearance so repulsive. To understand what I
mean you must think first of old ivory, and then endeavour to realise
what the complexion of a corpse would be like after lying in an
hermetically sealed tomb for many years. Blend the two and you will have
some dim notion of the idea I am trying to convey. His eyes were small,
deeply sunken, and in repose apparently devoid of light and even of
life. He wore a heavy fur coat, and, for the reason that he disdained
the customary headgear of polite society, and had substituted for it a
curious description of cap, I argued that he was a man who boasted a
will of his own, and who did not permit himself to be bound by arbitrary
rules. But, however plain these things may have been, his age was a
good deal more difficult to determine. It was certainly not less than
seventy, and one might have been excused had one even set it down at a
hundred. He walked feebly, supporting himself with a stick, upon which
his thin yellow fist was clutched till the knuckles stood out and shone
like billiard balls in the moonlight.

Under the influence of his mysterious personality, I stood speechless
for some moments, forgetful of everything--the hour, the place, and even
his inhumanity to the drowning wretch in the river below. By the time I
recovered myself he was gone, and I could see him crossing the road and
moving swiftly away in the direction of Charing Cross. Drawing my hand
across my forehead, which was clammy with the sweat of real fear, I
looked again at the river. A police boat was pulling toward the steps,
and by the light of the lantern on board I could make out the body of a
man. My nerves, already strained to breaking pitch, were not capable of
standing any further shock. I accordingly turned upon my heel and
hurried from the place with all the speed at my command.