the pad, and placed it carefully in my pocket-book. One thing at least
was certain, and that was, if Baxter _were_ the sender, there was
something underhand going on. If he were not, well, then there could be
no possible harm in my keeping the form as a little souvenir of a rather
curious experience.

I wrote my own message, and having paid for it left the office. But I
was not destined to have the society of my own thoughts for long. Hardly
had I reached the Invalids' Walk before I felt my arm touched. To my
supreme astonishment I found myself again confronted by Mr. Baxter. He
was now perfectly calm and greeted me with extraordinary civility.

"Mr. Hatteras, I believe," he said. "I think I had the pleasure of
meeting you on the sands a few days ago. What a beautiful day it is,
isn't it? Are you proceeding this way? Yes? Then perhaps I may be
permitted the honour of walking a short distance with you."

"With pleasure," I replied. "I am going up the cliff to my hotel, and I
shall be glad of your company. I think we met in the telegraph office
just now."

"In the post office, I think. I had occasion to go in there to register
a letter."

His speech struck me as remarkable. My observation was so trivial that
it hardly needed an answer, and yet not only did he vouchsafe me one,
but he corrected my statement and volunteered a further one on his own
account. What reason could he have for wanting to make me understand
that he had gone in there to post a letter? What would it have mattered
to me if he _had_ been there, as I suggested, to send a telegram?

"Mr. Baxter," I thought to myself, "I've got a sort of conviction that
you're not the man you pretend to be, and what's more I'd like to bet a
shilling to a halfpenny that, if the truth were only known, you're our
mysterious friend Nineveh."

We walked for some distance in silence. Presently my companion began to
talk again--this time, however, in a new strain, and perhaps with a
little more caution.

"You have been a great traveller, I understand."

"A fairly great one, Mr. Baxter. You also, I am told, have seen
something of the world."

"A little--very little."

"The South Seas, I believe. D'you know Papeete?"

"I have been there."

"D'you know New Guinea at all?"

"No. I was never near it. I am better acquainted with the Far
East--China, Japan, etc."

Suddenly something, I shall never be able to tell what, prompted me to
say:

"And the Andamans?"