On the whole, he could not bring himself to believe that a weak-headed, foolish old creature like Vrain had masqueraded in Jersey Street as Wrent.

Still there were certain suspicious incidents which fitted in very neatly with Ferruci's story.

Mrs.Clear had stated that Vrain, when under her charge, escaped several times, and had remained away for several days, until brought back again by the Count.

Again, the appearance of Wrent, as described by Rhoda, was precisely the same as the looks of Vrain when Lucian saw him in the Hampstead asylum; so it seemed that there might be some truth in the story.
"But it's impossible!" said Lucian to himself.

"Vrain is half mad and incapable of conducting his own life, or arranging so cleverly to commit a crime.