r the den. Immediately opposite me,
as I entered, a stuffed parrot, dropping slowly into dust, glared at
me with one malevolent eye of glass, while a hideous Chinese idol,
behind the counter, poked out his tongue in a very frenzy of
malignity. But my eye wandered past these, and was fixed in a moment
upon something that glittered upon the counter. That something was
my own watch.

Following my gaze, the man gave me a quick, suspicious glance,
hastily caught up the watch, and was bestowing it on one of his
shelves, when I said--

"Where did you get that?"

"Quite innocently, sir, I swear. I bought it of a gentleman who came
in just now, and would not pawn it. I thought it was his, so that if
you belong to the Force, I hope--"

"Gently, my friend," said I; "I am not in the police, so you need not
be in such a fright. Nevertheless, that watch is mine; I can tell
you the number, if you don't believe it."

He pushed the watch across to me and said, still greatly frightened--

"I am sure you may see it, sir, with all my heart. I wouldn't for
worlds--"

"What did you give for it?"

He hesitated a moment, and then, as greed overmastered fear,
replied--

"Fifteen pounds, sir; and the man would not take a penny less.
Fifteen good pounds! I swear it, as I am alive!"

Although I saw that the man lied, I drew out three five-pound notes,
laid them on the table, and took my watch. This done, I said--

"Now I want you to sell me a suit of clothes, and aid me to disguise
myself. Otherwise--"

"Don't talk, sir, about 'otherwise.' I'm sure I shall only be too
glad to rig you out to catch the thief. You can take your pick of
the suits here; they are mostly seamen's, to be sure; but you'll find
others as well. While as for disguises, I flatter myself that for
getting up a face--"

Here he stopped suddenly.

"How long has he been gone?"

"About half an hour, sir, before you came. But no doubt you know
where he'd be likely to go; and I won't be more than twenty minutes
setting you completely to rights."

In less than half an hour afterwards, I stepped out into the street
so completely disguised that none of my friends--that is, if I had
possessed a friend in the world--would have recognised me. I had
chosen a sailor's suit, that being the character I knew myself best
able to sustain. My pale face had turned to a bronze red, while over
its smoothly-shaven surface now grew the roughest of untrimmed
beards