I saw, too, the sitting-room of my old flat in Portland Place and heard little Scudder's quick, anxious voice talking about the three men he feared most on earth, one of whom lisped in his speech.

I had thought that all three had long ago been laid under the turf ...
He was not looking my way, and I could devour his face in safety.

There was no shadow of doubt.

I had always put him down as the most amazing actor on earth, for had he not played the part of the First Sea Lord and deluded that officer's daily colleagues?
But he could do far more than any human actor, for he could take on a new personality and with it a new appearance, and live steadily in the character as if he had been born in it ...

My mind was a blank, and I could only make blind gropings at conclusions ...