"I told you that you would not be bored," said Sir James Burrell toward the end of the dinner. "You are not the first man who has fallen under the spell of Mr. Benoliel."
Harry Rames laughed.
"I am under no spell, I assure you," he said frankly. "I was wondering whether he was likely to be of use to me."
"It is very likely," returned Sir James. "He has been of use to many. He plays at omniscience. To anticipate a wish before it is expressed, to serve an ambition before it has been revealed--that is one of our host's little vanities. He may have asked you here with no other object than to gratify it."
Harry Rames glanced quickly at his companion.
"Is that so?" he asked eagerly. Then his face fell. "But I am not even a friend of his."
"I do not think that matters," said the surgeon. "He likes to pose as Providence, and the posture will be more dramatic if it is assumed toward an acquaintance rather than a friend."
"He is a sham, then," said Rames bluntly.
"By no means," Sir James replied suavely. "Let us say, rather, that he is an artist."
Captain Rames turned with a furrowed brow to his companion.