o
know."

His words caused me to ponder. At what could he be hinting?

He saw my hesitancy, and with a sudden movement placed his face close to
me, saying:

"My dear fellow look--look into my countenance, you surely can penetrate
my disguise. It cannot be so very perfect, surely."

I looked, but turned from him in disgust.

"No. Stop this infernal fooling!" I cried. "I've never seen you before in
my life."

He burst out laughing--laughed heartily, and with genuine amusement.

His attitude held me in surprise.

"You refuse to be my friend, Royle--but I desire to be yours, if you will
allow me," he said.

"I can have no friend whom I cannot trust," I repeated.

"Naturally. But I hope you will soon learn to trust me," was his quiet
retort. "I called you back to-night in order to see if you--my most
intimate friend--would recognise me. But you do not. I am, therefore,
safe--safe to go forth and perform a certain mission which it is
imperative that I should perform."

"You are fooling me," I declared.

For a second he looked straight and unflinchingly into my eyes, then with
a sudden movement he drew the left cuff of his dress shirt up to the
elbow and held out his forearm for me to gaze upon.

I looked.

Then I stood dumbfounded, for half-way up the forearm, on the inside, was
the cicatrice of an old knife wound which long ago, he had told me, had
been made by an Indian in South America who had attempted to kill him,
and whom he had shot in self-defence.

"You believe me now?" he asked, in a voice scarce above a whisper.

"Of course," I said. "Pardon me, Digby--but this change in your
personality is marvellous--almost superhuman!"

"So I've been told before," he replied lightly.

"But, really, didn't you penetrate it?" he asked, resuming his normal
voice.

"No. I certainly did not," I answered, and helping myself to a drink,
swallowed it.

"Well?" I went on. "What does this mean?"

"At present I can't exactly tell you what I intend doing," he replied.
"To-night I wanted to test you, and have done so. It's late now," he
added, glancing at the clock, which showed it to be half-past two o'clock
in the morning. "Come in to-morrow at ten, will you?" he asked. "I want
to discuss the future with you very seriously. I have something to say
which concerns your own future, and which also closely concerns a friend
of yours. So come in your own interests, Royle--now don't fail, I beg of
you!"

"But can't