Shall we give him the pledge he asks, Sir Horace?
My signal is already hung out; shall we agree to the conditions and give him yours ?" "Yes, yes, by all means," Sir Horace made answer.

And lighting the violet lamp, Narkom flicked open the pinned curtains and set it in the window.
For ten minutes nothing came of it, and the two men, talking in whispers while they waited, began to grow nervous.

Then somewhere in the distance a clock started striking eleven, and without so much as a warning sound, the door flashed open, flashed shut again, a voice that was undeniably the voice of breeding and refinement said quietly: "Gentlemen, my compliments.

Here are the diamonds and here am I!" and the figure of a man, faultlessly dressed, faultlessly mannered, with the slim-loined form, the slim-walled nose, and the clear-cut features of the born aristocrat, stood in the room.
His age might lie anywhere between twenty-five and thirty-five, his eyes were straight-looking and clear, his fresh, clean-shaven face was undeniably handsome, and, whatever his origin, whatever his history, there was something about him, in look, in speech, in bearing, that mutely stood sponsor for the thing called "birth." "God bless my soul!" exclaimed Sir Horace, amazed and appalled to find the reality so widely different from the image he had drawn.

"What monstrous juggle is this?
Why, man alive, you're a gentleman! Who are you?
What's driven you to a dog's life like this ?" "A natural bent, perhaps; a supernatural gift, certainly, Sir Horace," he made reply.