s cloth, Mr. Baxter does not
always tell the truth."

"I am sorry you should think that. Pray what reason have you for saying
so?"

"Simply because in a conversation I had with him at Bournemouth he
deliberately informed me that he had never been near New Guinea in his
life."

"You must have misunderstood him. However, that has nothing to do with
us. Let us turn to a pleasanter subject."

He rang the bell, and the landlord having answered it, ordered more
refreshment. When it arrived he lit another cigarette, and leaning back
in his chair glanced at me through half-closed eyes.

Then occurred one of the most curious and weird circumstances connected
with this meeting. Hardly had he laid himself back in his chair before I
heard a faint scratching against the table leg, and next moment an
enormous cat, black as the Pit of Tophet, sprang with a bound upon the
table and stood there steadfastly regarding me, its eyes flashing and
its back arched. I have seen cats without number, Chinese, Persian,
Manx, the Australian wild cat, and the English tabby, but never in the
whole course of my existence such another as that owned by Dr. Nikola.
When it had regarded me with its evil eyes for nearly a minute, it
stepped daintily across to its master, and rubbed itself backwards and
forwards against his arm, then to my astonishment it clambered up on to
his shoulder and again gave me the benefit of its fixed attention. Dr.
Nikola must have observed the amazement depicted in my face, for he
smiled in a curious fashion, and coaxing the beast down into his lap
fell to stroking its fur with his long, white fingers. It was as uncanny
a performance as ever I had the privilege of witnessing.

"And so, Mr. Hatteras," he said slowly, "you are thinking of leaving
us?"

"I am," I replied, with a little start of natural astonishment. "But how
did you know it?"

"After the conjuring tricks--we agreed to call them conjuring tricks, I
think--I showed you a week or two ago, I wonder that you should ask such
a question. You have the ticket in your pocket even now."

All the time he had been speaking his extraordinary eyes had never left
my face; they seemed to be reading my very soul, and his cat ably
seconded his efforts.

"By the way, I should like to ask you a few questions about those self
same conjuring tricks," I said. "Do you know you gave me a most peculiar
warning?"

"I am very glad to hear it; I hope you profited by it."

"It