"It's only the beard that puzzles you," said the stranger, with a grim smile.
"Benyon!" exclaimed the Premier. "I thought you had left the country. What do you want with me, sir?"
"I have not left the country, and I want a good deal with you, Mr. Premier Medland."
"I lost touch of you four years ago."
"Yes; it ceased to matter what became of me about then, didn't it?"
"Have you been in the same place?"
"No; I broke. I have been up country."
"What brings you here? If you wanted money you could have written."
"I've never asked you for money. I wouldn't come to you if I wasn't hard put to it."