One edge of the table came within my vision, a man sitting beside it, his back turned toward me.

I made out little of this fellow's characteristics, as I saw only a pair of broad shoulders, encased in a rough shooting coat, and a fringe of black whiskers.

He was smoking a short-stemmed pipe, and contented himself with a growling, indistinct utterance when addressed.

Opposite, however, was a man of a different type, slender and active, his hair very dark and inclined to curl, a rather long face, slightly olive-hued, with a small mustache waxed at the ends.

His black, sparkling eyes attracted me first, and then his long, shapely hands.