Yet I knew the face; I knew the face." Again John wonders.
"Did a Blunt ever do you a wrong, father ?" "Yes, I have believed so these many years; have been ready to stake my very life upon it; and yet, and yet.

Heaven forgive me for what wicked thoughts I have hugged to my heart." These words arouse a wild hope in the mind of John Craig.

Can it be possible his father has after all these years seen light?
The idea is so wonderful that, although hope causes his heart to beat like a trip-hammer, he remains silent.

When the time comes, Craig, Sr., will speak; he knows this of old.
Later on, when John finds himself alone, he begins to think again of the little scheme he has decided to work, for the edification of himself and the future good of Sir Lionel Blunt--ditto Mademoiselle Pauline, the tragedy queen.
It must be well carried out to produce the intended effect, for these are more than ordinarily sensible people and might resent the interference of outsiders in their private affairs.
Whatever happens must not appear to have been prearranged, but be purely accidental.
Perhaps success may come; it is worth an effort at any rate.
John fears more than ever lest Pauline, in the bitterness of her anger, attempt some injury toward the girl he loves and who has made the sweet confession that he is very dear to her.
This causes him much more uneasiness than anything else ever did.

He can feel afraid for the safety of Ruth where he would not dream of allowing the sensation on his own account.
Hence his anxiety to mature his plans and clear the path ahead.
In the perfected work he believes he can count on the assistance of Mustapha Cadi.